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Marsh Pea

Lathyrus palustris

Found in tidal freshwater marshes, calcareous fens, bottomland forests, other marshes, streambanks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

70
Strong

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
April to August
Fruiting season
July to September

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

Recorded in 1 West Virginia county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 59 animals.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Lathyrus

  • Apantesis phylliraPhyllira Tiger Moth
  • Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
  • Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
  • Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
  • Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
  • Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
  • Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
  • Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
  • Gesta juvenalisJuvenal's Duskywing
  • Glaucopsyche lygdamusSilvery Blue
Show all 18
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Heliothis phloxiphagaSpotted Straw Sun Moth, Darker Spotted Straw Moth
  • Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
  • Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
  • Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
  • Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
  • Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
  • Caryocolum pullatella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
3BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Lathyrus

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Lathyrus

  • Megachile melanophaea
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lathyrus

  • Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Flower color
White, blue, purple or violet
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
September
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Marsh Vetchling

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS1
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources