Grass pea vs yellow vetchling

Lathyrus sphaericus compared with Lathyrus aphaca

Key Differences

• Grass pea is Endangered while yellow vetchling is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Grass pea	yellow vetchling
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family same	Fabaceae	Fabaceae
Genus same	Lathyrus	Lathyrus
Species	Lathyrus sphaericus	Lathyrus aphaca

Evolutionary Relationship

Grass pea and yellow vetchling share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Lathyrus.

Conservation Status

Grass pea

EN — Endangered

yellow vetchling

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Grass pea	yellow vetchling
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Grass pea

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

yellow vetchling

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, among 7 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (4 countries), Europe (12 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 10 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States