Lathyrus brownii

Brown's brush pea

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Brown's brush pea is a California native perennial found in northern coastal, Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, and northern Sierra Nevada Mountains in dry, open woodland and streambank habitats at elevations of 1,000 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces blue-purple to pale pink flowers in clusters of 2 to 6 blooms, with petals upcurved and banner standing nearly 90 degrees above other petals. Growing with slender stems that are angled or flanged, it reaches moderate heights with delicate branching tendrils. Its leaves feature 6 to 10 leaflets, typically ovate or elliptic, ranging from 1 to 5 centimeters long, accompanied by widely ovate-triangular stipules that are often toothed. The plant produces glabrous fruits that complete its elegant woodland presence.

Habitat: Dry, open woodland, streambanks

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 1000-1700 m

Bioregions: NCo, KR, CaR, n&ampc SN

California counties: Modoc, Siskiyou, Sierra, Lassen, Plumas, Butte, Tehama, Yuba, Shasta, Colusa, Humboldt, Trinity, Tulare, Lake

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.