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beach pea, beach peavine, dune sweet pea, gray beach or silky beach pea, gray beach pea, grey beach peavine, silky beach pea, silky beach vetchling

earth-nut pea, earth-nut peavine, tuber vetchling, tuberous pea, tuberous sweetpea

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome, cinereous and densely villous throughout. Herbs perennial, from tuber-bearing rhizome, glabrous.
Stems

angled, sprawling, basally branched 0–4 times, 1–4 dm.

not winged, sprawling, branched along trailing stems several times, 2–6 dm.

Leaves

1–3 cm;

tendrils flattened bristles;

stipules ovate to lanceolate, 10–27 × 5–12 mm, often larger than leaflets;

leaflets 4 or 6, paired, blades obovate to oblanceolate, 10–20 × 4–8 mm, surfaces densely villous.

0.5–2 cm;

tendrils well developed;

stipules filiform-linear, 5–10 × 1–3 mm, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 2, blades lanceolate, 10–40 × 5–15 mm, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

4–8-flowered, 3–10 cm.

4–6-flowered, 6–15 cm.

Flowers

13–15 mm;

calyx lobes equal, lateral lobes deltate, equal to or shorter than tube;

corolla dark purple, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings longer than keel;

ovary densely pubescent.

8–12 mm;

calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes linear-triangular, equal to tube;

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

ovary glabrous, style rotated 90° from ovary axis.

Legumes

20–30 × 9–13 mm.

20–30(–40) × 3–6 mm.

2n

= 28.

= 14.

Lathyrus littoralis

Lathyrus tuberosus

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Coastal sand dunes, deflation plain interdune areas. Roadsides, meadows, fields.
Elevation 0–15 m. (0–0 ft.) 50–100 m. (200–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; TN; VT; WA; WI; WV; MB; ON; QC; SK; Europe; w Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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. japonicus, L. jepsonii, L. laetivirens, L. lanszwertii, L. latifolius, 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. cicera, 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. venosus, L. vestitus
Synonyms Astrophia littoralis
Name authority (Nuttall) Endlicher in W. G. Walpers: Repert. Bot. Syst. 1: 722. (1842) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 732. (1753)
Web links