Garden Pea | Plant Information

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Fabaceae (Pea)

Also in this family:

Alsike Clover, Birdsfoot, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Bitter Vetchling, Black Medick, Bladder Senna, Broad Bean, Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea, Bush Vetch, Common Broom, Common Gorse, Common Laburnum, Common Restharrow, Common Vetch, Crown Vetch, Dyer's Greenweed, False Acacia, Goat's Rue, Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil, Hairy Tare, Haresfoot Clover, Hop Trefoil, Horseshoe Vetch, Kidney Vetch, Lesser Trefoil, Lucerne, Meadow Vetchling, Narrow-leaved Vetch, Red Clover, Ribbed Melilot, Russell Lupin, Scottish Laburnum, Smooth Tare, Spanish Gorse, Strawberry Clover, Tall Melilot, Tree Lupin, Tufted Vetch, Western Gorse, White Clover, White Lupin, White Melilot, Zigzag Clover

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Annual

Maximum Size:

2 metres tall

Habitats:

Farmland, gardens, wasteland.

Flower:

Variable in colour, 5 petals

Pea-like flowers which are either white, pink or purple. They appear in clusters of 1 to 3. 10 stamens. Pollinated by bees.

Fruit:

A cylindrical seedpod which produces the seeds (peas). The seeds ripen from July to October.

Leaves:

The unstalked and smooth, hairless leaves are pinnately divided into 1 to 4 pairs of oval, paired leaflets. The leaflets are untoothed and measure up to 6 inches (15cm) long and 1.5 inches (4cm) wide. The leaves each end in a branched tendril. The leaves have round stipules, up to 4 inches (10cm) long. The leaves are alternate along the stems. Garden Pea is an annual climbing garden flower, occasionally escaping into the wild.

Other Names:

Chinese Pea, Chinese Pea Pod, Chinese Snow Pea, Common Pea, Dry Pea, Edible Pod Pea, Edible-podded Pea, English Pea, Field Pea, Green Pea, Pea, Podded Pea, Snow Pea, Sugar Snap Pea.

Frequency (UK):

Occasionally seen