Lathyrus littoralis
Beach pea
Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Beach pea is a California native perennial found in northern Coast Ranges and northern and central Coast Counties on open coastal dunes at elevations near sea level. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces two-colored pink-purple and white flowers approximately 15 to 18 millimeters long in dense clusters of 4 to 8 blooms. Growing with prostrate or ascending stems that are distinctively angled or flanged, it spreads close to the ground with a delicate structure. Its leaves feature 4 to 8 obovate to short-oblong leaflets 1 to 2 centimeters long, accompanied by distinctive bristle-like tendrils. The fruit is elliptic to oblong and covered in gray hairs.
Habitat: Open coastal dunes
Bloom period: Apr-Jul
Elevation: < +- 5 m
Bioregions: NCo, n&c CCo
California counties: Humboldt, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Mendocino, Marin, Monterey, Del Norte
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.