Appearance
The chaparral pea rarely sprouts from seed. More often it sends up new stems from roots growing outward from the mother plant. It forms low, dense, thorny thickets of shiny dark green leaves. In spring and summer the plant blooms in bright magenta flowers. It bears pods containing pealike seeds.There are two subspecies of chaparral pea:
⤷ "Pickeringia montana" subsp. "montana" is widespread in California.
⤷ "Pickeringia montana" subsp. "tomentosa", sometimes called woolly chaparral pea, is limited to the hills of southern California.
Naming
It was named after the naturalist Charles Pickering.Distribution
It is endemic to California in the United States, where its distribution extends along the Coast Ranges to the Peninsular Ranges, as well as along the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is also known from Santa Cruz Island.It is one of very few legumes native to the chaparral habitat. Its nitrogen-fixing ability helps it thrive in rocky, sandy soil. The plant is also well-suited to a landscape of hills, slopes, and recently burned areas; its roots spread quickly and help anchor loose soil, preventing erosion.
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