Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus

Common pacific pea

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Common pacific pea is a California native perennial found in northern coastal, north coastal range, central western, and southwestern California bioregions in conifer forest, chaparral, and oak woodland at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from February to July, this plant produces pale lavender to purple flowers with a distinctive banner petal bent approximately 90 degrees. Growing with slender climbing stems up to one meter tall, it develops a delicate vine-like structure through surrounding vegetation. Its leaves are composed of several leaflets typical of pea-family plants, with smooth margins and a soft green coloration. The plant may appear glabrous or slightly puberulent, giving it a subtle textural variation across different growing conditions.

Habitat: Conifer forest in north to chaparral and oak woodland in south

Bloom period: Feb-Jul

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoR, CW, SW.

California counties: San Diego, Los Angeles, Kern, San Bernardino, Monterey, Ventura, Riverside, Alameda, Santa Barbara, Orange, Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Mendocino, Solano, Napa, Contra Costa, Marin, Colusa, San Francisco, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Lake, San Benito, Mariposa, Humboldt, Yolo

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