Lathyrus japonicus

English name(s):
beach pea, inland beach-pea
Family:  Fabaceae
Description:
A native perennial vine with succulent bluish-grey leaves bearing deep-hued pink to purplish-blue flowers that bloom July and August. The beach pea not only graces the shores with its beauty, but stabilizes the shifting sands with its deep expansive root system. The developing and mature fruits further enhance its visual appeal.
Habitat:
dunes, sandy to gravely beaches
Notes:
lathyros = old greek term for pea + japonicus = of Japan
Additional notes:

photograph courtesy of Ami Horowitz

field trip archive:  Walnut Beach 2010

USDA map:  to view county distribution for Ohio, double click Ohio several times. 

status list by family:  rare native ohio plants

status list by index:  rare native ohio plants

 

Plant identification
The Ohio State University Herbarium:
Ashtabula County, 27 July 1979, collector:  Robert J. Bartolotta  voucher specimen
✿ view additional voucher specimens and related information

Newcomb's: Key Group no. 164, p. 114

Historical description: researching

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 413.

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 413.



... Sturdy clumps of the beach pea,
growing beyond reach of the tide in the dunes and sandy wastelands back of the beach, afford the bee the last restaurant where he may regale himself without fear of drowning. ...

Wild Flowers, An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors
by Neltje Blanchan, 1900  


  


virtual herbarium sheet 000005
 created by Lisa K. SchlaG, 9.ii.2014