Mangetout vs Sweet Peas (paranoid newbie beg grower)
 

I'm growing some mangetout and miniature sweet peas on my patio and whilst the stems are quite different and the leaves grow in a different formation, the flowers look very similar. I've read that the pods of the latter can be quite toxic. It's not that I don't trust the plant labellers at Dobbies, but the mangetout was one tray put in with a bunch of sweet peas and beans. Is there any way to tell with absolute accuracy whether you've got an edible pea or one that will send you to hospital?

I've got a couple photos of the mangetout I'm growing--if someone could confirm that it's what I think it is, I'd be most grateful :)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_-51uY2z0IlY/TE...0/IMAG0508.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_-51uY2z0IlY/TE...0/IMAG0509.jpg

Thank you!

That would be newbie 'veg' grower..hehe *headdesk*

Sweet pea pods are narrower compared with their length than mange-tout pods, and they are slightly hairy. And they are a bluish green rather than a 'pea' green. There's nothing in that photo that would make me doubt it was a mange-tout, (and it is certainly not an ordinary sweet pea) but I'd never say to anyone 'go ahead and eat it' without seeing the plant itself.

I'm not certain without going outside and looking, but don't sweet peas have winged stems?

It's the shape of the flower that tells you the plant is in the pea family, so similarity in the flowers is the least thing you should worry about. All the pea family have the same flowers - peas, beans, laburnum, wisteria, right down to clovers.

So the thing to do is to compare the stems and leaves and pods as you have.
Mange-tout peas look very much like ordinary culinary peas, so you could reassure yourself by taking a spray of your mange-tout and comparing it with some peas on an allotment or in a neighbour's garden.

The sweet pea pods are indeed hairy and the stems do have wing-like projections running the length of them. I had a look at the the edible peas grown by the gardener on the estate I live on, and while they're not exactly alike, the plants' structures all look highly similar to my 'mangetout'. For the heck of it, I also looked at some bean plants. Given how dissimilar beans, sweet peas and edible peas are, I think it's safe to assume my plant is in that latter group. If not, I suppose Dobbies has deep pockets should I need to file a lawsuit ;)