General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems trailing to climbing, 10-150 cm long, angled or flanged but not winged, glabrous to short-hairy.

Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound with 6 to 12 leaflets; leaflets paired or scattered, egg-shaped to oblong, 1-7 cm long, 0.5-4 cm wide, rather fleshy, strongly veined when dry; tendrils well developed, grasping or branched or neither; stipules large, leafy, obliquely arrowhead-shaped, about as long as the leaflets.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a loose, stalked, axillary cluster of 2 to 8 pea-like flowers; corollas reddish-purple to blue, often 2-coloured, up to 3 cm long, the wings and keel shorter than the banner, the banner-claw equal to the blade; calyces 10-15 mm long, the teeth lanceolate, the upper pair 1/2 as long as the lateral pair which are 1-2 mm shorter than the lowest one, all three of the lower teeth longer than the tube.

Fruits:
Pods, usually hairy, 3-7 cm long, 1 cm wide; seeds 5 to16.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lathyrus japonicus subsp. maritimus (L.) P.W. Ball
Lathyrus japonicus var. glaber (Ser.) Fernald
Lathyrus maritimus Bigelow
Lathyrus maritimus var. glaber (Ser.) Eames
Pisum maritimum L.
Pisum maritimum var. glabrum Ser.