|Scientific name:||Lathyrus pratensis L.|
|Swedish name:||Gulvial, ängsvial|
|English name:||Meadow Vetchling|
|Plant Family:||Fabaceae, Ärtväxter|
|Life form:||Perennial legume|
|Stems:||Slender, needs supporting, simple, 2-leaved tendrils. Angular, slightly downy, and branched|
|Leaves:||narrow, parallel-veined leaflets|
|Fruits:||Pod, which contains many seeds, contracts when dry, and the seeds are thus expelled to a distance by a catapult arrangement.|
|Habitat:||Woods, thickets, pastureland, meadows, farmland and settlements|
Derivation of the botanical name:
Lathyrus from the Greek Láthyros, Lathuros, a kind of pea.
pratensis, "in meadows", growing or found in meadows.
In the UK the Lathyrus pratensis is the primary foodplant for Leptidea juvernica (Cryptic Wood White), and Leptidea sinapis (Wood White).