Lathyrus odoratus

Sweet pea

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Sweet pea is a naturalized annual found in the California Floristic Province in disturbed areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white, pink, or purple flowers 20 to 30 millimeters long with a delicate, fragrant appearance. Growing with sprawling or climbing stems that are generally winged and hairy, it can extend along surfaces with support. Its leaves feature two ovate to narrowly elliptic leaflets 3 to 6 centimeters long, supported by a branched, coiled tendril. The fruit is less than 6 centimeters long and covered in soft hairs.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: especially < 1000 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

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