* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
It is a good idea to pay attention to the flowers that grow on the edges of the roads, especially during spring, when everything comes to life in the fields.
Hedysarum is a genus of flowering plants, consisting of about 309 species. They are found in temperate climate zones. This is how, specifically, we can see the pea growing along the paths of Claravalls, in the Urgell region, where I have captured these photographs for La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos.
As a curiosity, I will tell you that the Inuit, popularly known as Eskimos, ate some species such as Hedysarum alpinum to avoid scurvy due to its high vitamin C content (about 21 mg/100g).
The pea, in Catalan known as “cata-rossí” or “taca-rossí blanc”, has pink, purple, yellow or whitish petals. The fruit is loment-shaped with glabrous, pubescent or spiny segments.
In Catalan territory the following species are native: Hedysarum coronarium (the zulla or encloa), Hedysarum humile and Hedysarum spinosissimum.
