Extra Petals in Sweet Pea

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DUPLEX STANDARD

TRIPLEX STANDARD

SEMI-DUPLEX STANDARD

The picture on the left shows a single standard petal that has divided into two lobes during its growth in the bud. The division is commonly found near the base of the petal - It is most unusual to find short lobes formed near the outer edge of the standard.

Unlike the flowers with extra standards , a single but lobed standard usually grows freely without getting caught in the keel and spoiing the appearance of the flower.

Extra standard petals are commonplace, and extra wings are not unusual. Sweet Peas occasionally develop extra half-keel petals, always outside the keel.
It could be that the keels throughout the pea family

evolved by the fusion of two aboriginal petals, and these odd half-keels we see may tend to support this view.
Extra standards are usually like those in the two pictures above, similar in height but of various widths. Very rarely, the

standards are perfectly formed and overlap exactly, wheras ill-matched smaller standards are quite often seen. In all cases, it is very likely that an extra standard in the growing bud will get caught by the developing keel - very ugly.