Lathyrus niger

A nice busy pea for the shade garden, reaching two and a half feet with time, though it will take a few yeas for them to get that big. In some ways similar to the always wonderful lathyrus vernus, but taller, with smaller leaves giving it a finer texture, and flowers later, in early summer rather than spring. I'm very fond of the dark purple-pink racemes of flowers which open over quite a long period. I like the seed pods that come afterwards as much, if not more. At maturity, each pod splits open and the two halves curl into neat corkscrews that age to dark brown almost black and persist through the fall. Maybe a bit understated for some people's tastes, but I rather like them, especially cut for a vase with things like ornamental grass seed heads. Extremely tough once established, thriving for me in the brutally dry shade under a mature silver maple tree. Zone 4