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beach or maritime or sand pea, beach pea, beach vetchling, maritime pea, sea pea, seaside pea

red pea, red peavine, red vetch or pea

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous or sparsely pubescent. Herbs annual, glabrous.
Stems

angled to narrowly winged, erect, sprawling, or climbing, basally branched 0–4 times, 1–10 dm.

winged, sprawling or climbing, basally branched 0–3 times, 2–10 dm.

Leaves

3–15 cm;

tendrils usually well developed, branched or unbranched;

stipules sagittate-ovate, 7–35 × 7–30 mm, as large as basal leaflets;

leaflets 6–12, usually scattered, blades ovate to lanceolate, 15–55 × 5–35 mm, surfaces glabrous throughout or pubescent abaxially.

0.5–2 cm, rachises winged as the stem;

tendrils well developed;

stipules lanceolate, 10–20 × 2–6 mm, sometimes as wide as leaflets;

leaflets 2, blades linear, 20–50 × 1–6 mm, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

4–9-flowered, 4–15 cm.

usually 1-flowered, 1–4 cm.

Flowers

12–29 mm;

calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes linear-triangular, longer than tube;

corolla blue to purple, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings equal to keel;

ovary eglandular and glandular-pubescent.

10–12 mm;

calyx lobes equal, lateral lobes linear-triangular, 2–3 times longer than tube;

corolla reddish purple, banner erect, blade equal to claw, wings equal to keel;

ovary glabrous, style rotated 90° from ovary axis.

Legumes

35–65 × 6–12 mm.

20–40 × 5–10 mm, broadly winged on abaxial suture.

2n

= 14.

Lathyrus japonicus

Lathyrus cicera

Phenology Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Disturbed areas.
Elevation 50–600 m. (200–2000 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
North America; Eurasia [Introduced in s South America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Argentina, Uruguay)]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Within Lathyrus japonicus, in the narrow sense, there is a south to north reduction in plant size, including plant height, robustness, and leaflet size, but not flower size, flower number, or fruit size. On the east coast of North America this shift seems fairly abrupt, giving the appearance of a clear distinction between var. maritimus and var. pellitus in the south, and var. japonicus to the north in Labrador and Greenland. However, on the West Coast, there are few truly pubescent forms (var. pellitus), and there seem to be many more intermediates between var. maritimus in the south and var. japonicus to the north.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Lathyrus cicera is cultivated as an ornamental and occasionally escapes.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Stems 1–3.5 dm; leaflet blades 15–35 mm; tendrils unbranched, less than 3 cm.
var. japonicus
1. Stems 3–10 dm; leaflet blades 30–50(–55) mm; tendrils branched, 3+ cm.
→ 2
2. Leaflet blades glabrous.
var. maritimus
2. Leaflet blades pubescent abaxially (especially new growth).
var. pellitus
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lathyrus Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lathyrus
Sibling taxa
L. angulatus, L. aphaca, L. biflorus, L. brachycalyx, L. brownii, L. cicera, L. decaphyllus, L. delnorticus, L. eucosmus, L. glandulosus, L. graminifolius, L. grimesii, L. hirsutus, L. hitchcockianus, L. holochlorus, L. jepsonii, L. laetivirens, L. lanszwertii, L. latifolius, L. littoralis, L. nevadensis, L. nissolia, L. ochroleucus, L. odoratus, L. palustris, L. pauciflorus, L. polyphyllus, L. pratensis, L. pusillus, L. rigidus, L. sphaericus, L. splendens, L. sulphureus, L. sylvestris, L. tingitanus, L. torreyi, L. tracyi, L. tuberosus, L. venosus, L. vestitus
L. angulatus, L. aphaca, L. biflorus, L. brachycalyx, L. brownii, L. decaphyllus, L. delnorticus, L. eucosmus, L. glandulosus, L. graminifolius, L. grimesii, L. hirsutus, L. hitchcockianus, L. holochlorus, L. japonicus, L. jepsonii, L. laetivirens, L. lanszwertii, L. latifolius, L. littoralis, L. nevadensis, L. nissolia, L. ochroleucus, L. odoratus, L. palustris, L. pauciflorus, L. polyphyllus, L. pratensis, L. pusillus, L. rigidus, L. sphaericus, L. splendens, L. sulphureus, L. sylvestris, L. tingitanus, L. torreyi, L. tracyi, L. tuberosus, L. venosus, L. vestitus
Subordinate taxa
L. japonicus var. japonicus, L. japonicus var. maritimus, L. japonicus var. pellitus
Name authority Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 3: 1092. (1802) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 730. (1753)
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