Andalucia Life Fauna and Flora, Flowers of Andalucia Southern Spain
February 2007, Asparagus Pea - Tetragonolobus purpurea
Native to Southern Europe and North Africa, you will find this flower at the edges of cultivated fields and on roadsides in the damper valleys like the lower valley of the River Genal or from Los Barrios up to Jerez. It is an annual, naturally growing low to the ground and occasionally found twining up through a low shrub. The flowers from February to April are a characteristic pea flower in shades of red and purple. The small pods that come later are edible and delicious when young and the cultivated varieties fetch a high price at market.