Beach Pea

(Lathyrus japonicus)

 

   

 

Color photograph: Homer D. House. 1918. Wildflowers of New York.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus Willd.)

Identification: A prostrate or climbing vine. Flowers large and showy with purple petals. Flowers arranged in a tight cluster on the end of a long flower stalk. Seedpods pealike. Stems without wings. Leaves with several pairs of paired leaflets and an apical tendril. A arrowhead shaped bract (stipule) present at the leaf axil.

Distribution: Throughout Canada, the Great Lakes and other major lakes in the north, and along the coast to New Jersey. Occuring in the west along the Pacific Coast. Also found in northern Europe and Asia.

Habitat: Beach Pea lives on sandy ocean beaches and along major lakes.

Flowering period: June to August.

Similar Species: The arrowhead-shaped stipules in the leaf axils and the bright purple flowers are distinctive features of this species.

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