Lathyrus japonicus

As the name indicates, sea pea grows along the sea shore. In the Netherlands, you find it mostly growing between basalt blocks on the foot of sea dikes. Elsewhere, it grows on stony beaches, steep beach ridges or other such shores. The seeds are spread by the sea, remaining fertile up to five years. In that way, the plant can spread throughout the world. Once the hard seed covering is abraded by sand, the seed will germinate. The major part of the plant is hidden underground. The plant rarely gets the chance to fully flower in the Netherlands, due to harsh conditions and people's tendency to pick the lovely blossoms.

Lathyrus japonicus var. aleuticus (Greene ex T.G. White) Fernald:
Canada (North America)
Chile (South America)
Greenland (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Perennial, Herbs, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems less than 1 m tall, Climbing by tendrils, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glaucous, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules green, triangulate to lanceolate or foliaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves even pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite , Leaflets 4, Leaflets 5-9, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Flowers in axillary clusters or few-floweredracemes, 2-6 flowers, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals blue, lavander to purple, or violet, Banner petal ovoid or obovate, Banner petal suborbicular, broadly rounded, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style flattened, Style hairy, Style hairy on one side only, Style persistent in fruit, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit exserted from calyx, Valves twisting or coiling after dehiscence, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Fruit 11-many seeded, Seeds ovoi d to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 13
Specimens with Barcodes: 33
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure