Lathyrus torreyi

Redwood pea

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Redwood pea is a California native perennial found in northern coastal California regions including North Coast, North Coast Ranges, and San Francisco Bay Area in open woodland habitats at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces delicate lilac to pale purple-blue flowers approximately 8 to 10 millimeters long. Growing with slender angled or flanged stems that are slightly hairy, it develops a climbing habit with leafy tendrils. Its compound leaves feature 10 to 15 elliptic to ovate leaflets, each 1 to 2 centimeters long, accompanied by small narrow or wide stipules. The plant produces puberulent fruits that complement its delicate woodland growth pattern.

Habitat: Open woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoR, SnFrB

California counties: Humboldt, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Trinity, Santa Clara, Del Norte, Siskiyou, San Mateo, Glenn, Lake

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