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Home / Browse / Lathyrus / Downy Beach Pea (var. pubescens)
iNaturalist — CC, credited & licensed per image
Pictured: Lathyrus japonicus — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Fabaceae family

Downy Beach Pea (var. pubescens) Lathyrus japonicus var. pubescens variety

Native

Downy Beach Pea (var. pubescens) is a perennial vine native to Alaska and Canada.

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Vine / climber layer — Sits in the vine of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~21 caterpillar species

Lathyrus supports ~21 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Lathyrus in North America, including:

Ancylis maritima · leafroller moth Ancylis metamelana · Black-Marked Ancylis Caenurgina caerulea · owlet moth Chionodes braunella · twirler moth Cnephasia asseclana · leafroller moth Colias alexandra · Queen Alexandra's Sulphur
+ 8 more species →
Colias eurytheme · Orange Sulphur Colias occidentalis · Western Sulphur Cydia americana · leafroller moth Cydia nigricana · leafroller moth Dryotype opina · owlet moth Epargyreus clarus · skipper butterfly Erynnis juvenalis · Juvenal's Duskywing Etiella zinckenella · snout moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[07] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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