Lathyrus japonicus
Beach pea ( Lathyrus japonicus )
The beach pea ( Lathyrus japonicus ) is a perennial plant of the family of Fabaceae.
Description
The beach pea is an evergreen perennial, herbaceous plant. Your instincts arise from a creeping rhizome and are about 50 to 80 cm long. Unlike many other vetchlings the shoots are not winged. The leaves are gray-green and 5 to 10 cm long. You are pinnate with 2-5 leaflets pair. The leaves are elliptic to broadly lanceolate, 10-45 mm long and 4-20 mm wide. The terminal leaflet is usually replaced by a tendril. The flowers are about 2-7 in racemose inflorescences. The stipules are large and arrow-shaped.
The five-to zwölfblütigen inflorescences arise from the leaf axils and are shorter than the leaves. The flowers are 14 to 22 mm wide and pink to purple purple blue colored later, the wings occasionally white. The pods are flat and about five inches long, brown or red - brown at maturity. The seeds are roundish.
The species has the chromosome number 2n = 14
Ecology
The flowers of the beach pea are pollinated by insects. As a main pollinators occur bees and bumble bees in appearance. The spread of the seeds occurs through self- propagation. For one, the mature seeds are actively thrown by the plant, on the other vegetative propagation, a form of self- propagation is about underground runners in the broad sense, is ensured.
Distribution and location
The species is circumpolar in front on the northern and southern hemisphere. Its distribution area extends across temperate coastal areas of Asia, Europe, North and South America. Their occurrence in the southern hemisphere are confined to Western Patagonia in Argentina.
In Germany occurrence of beach pea can be found on the coasts and offshore islands. With scattered holdings, the species is represented in the northern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Deposits were found there along the coast of Rügen as the eastern limit of distribution. From Eastern and Northern Schleswig -Holstein from the coasts also scattered holdings were reported. Rarely occurs the beach pea on the northern Lower Saxony. As growth places Wangerooge, Schillig and Cuxhaven were confirmed.
The unusual wide area of distribution is explained that the seeds of the plant floating up to 5 years in sea water can retain their ability to germinate. Germination occurs when the hard seed coat is abraded after landing by wave action.
The locations largely desalted soils of the dunes are colonized. Beach grass stalks serve the tendrils of the kind often used as staple help. Phytosociological is the kind in Central Europe, a characteristic species of Elymo - Ammophiletum ( Ammophilion Association).
Use
The seed pods are edible in small amounts, but can also be toxic to other species of the genus of grass pea by their content of β - oxalyl -L- α, β - diamino propionic acid. The leaves of the plant are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Also, North American natives used the beach pea as a vegetable and medicine.
System
The first description of Carl Ludwig Willdenow was published in 1802. Within the species, two subspecies are distinguished:
- Lathyrus japonicus subsp. japonicus
- Lathyrus japonicus subsp. maritimus (L. ) P. W. Ball Lathyrus japonicus subsp. maritimus var acutifolius ( Babyl. ) Bässler
- Lathyrus japonicus subsp. maritimus var pellitus Fernald