Lathyrus Species, Sweet Pea

The loveliest new coloration in Sweet Peas. If you can find it, grow it. Sadly, it is expected to go extinct in the wild soon, as the gov...Read Moreernment in Turkey did not protect the species and nearly all of the known plants have been destroyed and the habitat has been hugely altered by resort development.

Lathyrus belinensis is a member of Lathyrus section Lathyrus and most closely related to L. odoratus (Sweet Pea) to which it has the potential to donate important horticultural traits as a close crop wild relative. The type population was found over an area of only 2 km² and although the species description was published in 1988 no further populations have been reported. It therefore meets the thresholds for listing as Critically Endangered under criteria B1a+2a. The species was found growing adjacent to the new main road that carries the major holiday traffic along the south Turkish coast, it is in an area ripe for tourism development and the area was being planted with conifers at the time of original collection. The population was originally located in 1987 and revisited in 1995 but on returning in 2010 it was found that the original type location has been completely destroyed by earthworks associated with the building of a new police station. Although some plants were still found in the area and there is seed held ex situ in two seed banks, about 80% of the original population at the site has been lost between 1995 (5,000 individuals) and 2010 (1,000 individuals). Therefore, the species qualifies for criteria B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,v). There is also an on-going threat first from the extensive conifer planting in the area and second from the very high level of sheep and goat grazing. It is hence presumed that the species will go extinct within the next 10 years and it qualifies under criterion A3c. Therefore, it is globally assessed as Critically Endangered.