Lathyrus japonicus (Beach Pea)

Lathyrus japonicus

Lathyrus japonicus Willd.

L. maritimus

Beach Pea, Sea Pea, Circumpolar Pea, Sea Vetchling

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fabales	Legumes (pea and bean families)
Family	Fabaceae	Legume family (peas and beans)
Genus	Lathyrus	From Greek lathyros, an old name for “pea”
Species	japonicus	“Japanese”

About plant names...

Beach pea inhabits coastal areas in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. It is also found through much of interior Canada and the northern United States.

Identification: Plants are 12-24" (30-60 cm) tall. Flowers are ¾" (1.9 cm) in size, in clusters of 6 to 10. Leaves are in opposite pairs, oval in shape, with a tendril at the tip of each branch. They are an attractive mix of dark and light pink in color, and appear from June to August. Fruits look identical to those of garden sweet peas, in clusters of six to ten pods, each 1½-3½" (3.8-8.9 cm) long and ½" (1.3 cm) around.

Edibility: Young plants are edible and nutritious, either raw or cooked. However, the peas, which look tempting because they closely resemble garden peas, are not edible.

Online References:

Lathyrus japonicus at the University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

Lathyrus japonicus on CalPhotos

Lathyrus japonicus on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Lathyrus japonicus on Ontario Wildflowers

Lathyrus japonicus on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Lathyrus japonicus at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Lathyrus japonicus on eFloras