Chaparral Pea

chaparral pea

More info for the terms: fruit, shrub

Chaparral pea is a native evergreen shrub from 1.6 to 6.6 feet (0.5-2 m)
in height. Branches are stiff and dense, with spine-tipped branchlets
[16]. The schlerophyllous leaves are 2 to 6 inches (5-15 cm) long. The
fruit is a legume containing 6 to 10 seeds. Root nodules are dense and
arranged in large clusters [13,22].

Chaparral pea is endemic to California. It is distributed in the Coast
Ranges from the Santa Monica Mountains north to Mendocino County, and in
the foothills of the Sierra Nevada from Nevada County north to Butte
County. It is also found on Santa Cruz Island. Pickeringia montana
ssp. tomentosa occurs in the mountains of eastern San Diego County and
in the San Bernardino Mountains [16,20].

More info for the terms: fire regime, fire suppression, fuel, litter, root crown, shrubs

Chaparral pea has adapted to fire by sprouting from the roots and
root crown following damage to aboveground portions of the plant
[4,20,23,26].

Prior to fire suppression, mixed chaparral burned at fairly frequent
intervals. Most chaparral shrubs, presumably including chaparral pea,
recover quickly from fire. Litter accumulation in mixed chaparral is
often heavy [12]. Consequently, these mixed stands are able to carry
fire after only a few years of postfire growth [18]. Frequent fire kept
chaparral pea and associated shrubs at a young stage of development.
Because of this periodic fuel consumption, chaparral fires usually did
not burn with the intensity of the fires of today [4].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

More info for the term: shrubs

Deer management: Prescribed spring fire was used successfully in Lake
County to improve deer habitat. Openings and "edge" were created in
formerly dense chaparral brush. Browse quality was improved by the
sprouting of top-killed shrubs, including chaparral pea. A year
following the fire, the ratio of fawns to does increased greatly, and
weight gain in bucks was improved, especially in young animals [3].

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More info for the term: phanerophyte

Phanerophyte
Cryptophyte

More info for the terms: herbaceous, shrub

The climate in which chaparral pea grows is Mediterranean, characterized
by wet, mild winters and hot, dry summers [19]. Soils are usually low
in fertility [5]. Soil pH varies from moderately to slightly acid
[8,19]. Soil parent materials include siliceous sandstone, siliceous
shale, serpentine, and diabase [26]. Chaparral pea occurs at elevations
from 2,000 to 5,000 feet (610-1,524 m). It is most commonly found on
ridgetops [3,13,23]

Plant associations: Overstory associates not listed under Distribution
and Occurrence include Tecate cypress (Cupressus forbesii), Sargent's
cypress (C. sargentii), bishop pine (Pinus muricata), Coulter pine (P.
coulteri), tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflora), and California bay
(Umbellularia californica) [26,27].

Common shrub associates include Eastwood manzanita (Arctostaphylos
glandulosa), chamise, wedgeleaf ceanothus (Ceanothus cuneatus),
chaparral whitethorn (C. leucodermis), birchleaf mountain-mahogany
(Cercocarpus betuloides), sawtooth goldenbush (Haplopappus squarrosus),
poison-oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), hollyleaf cherry (Prunus
ilicifolia), California scrub oak (Quercus dumosa), and chaparral yucca
(Yucca whipplei) [9,26].

Herbaceous associates are rare in mature chaparral stands but are common
following disturbance in the plant community [5]. Common herbaceous
associates include California goldenrod (Solidago californica), chaparral
pentstemon (Pentstemon heterophyllus), common soap-plant (Chlorogalum
pomeridianum), dove lupine (Lupinus bicolor), wild oat (Avena fatua),
ripgut brome (Bromus rigidus), soft chess (B. mollis), foothill stipa
(Stipa lepida), and smallflower milicgrass (Melica imperfecta) [19,26].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
248 Knobcone pine
249 Canyon live oak
250 Blue oak - Digger pine
255 California coast live oak

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the term: forest

K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
K035 Coastal sagebrush
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub

Moderate-severity fire usually top-kills chaparral pea [18]. Plant
mortality due to such fire is low to intermediate [28]. The percentage
of complete kill varies by season. Spring or early summer fire, when
carbohydrate reserves are depleted by rapid topgrowth, causes higher
mortality than does late summer or fall fire [18].

Chaparral pea is important browse for black-tailed deer. They carefully
pick out leaves and flowers from among the thorny stems; flower
consumption is particularly heavy. Livestock rarely browse the
species [20].

More info for the term: forest

Chaparral pea occurs in mixed chaparral but is not usually dominant. It
may be a minor component of seral chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum)
chaparral or California mixed evergreen forest [9,12,16,24].

More info for the term: shrub

Shrub

Black-tailed deer rarely browse chaparral pea in dense older stands.
Heaviest use occurs on recent burns or mechanically treated brush
fields, where deer readily crop young sprouts [20]. Light disking of
mature chaparral pea increases available forage because plants sprout
wherever roots are exposed [23].

More info for the term: shrubs

Protein levels in chaparral pea are notably higher than levels in most
chaparral shrubs during the early growth stages, and higher than average
during winter [20]. Analysis of chaparral pea leaves and stems yielded
the following results [2]:

Month Crude Protein (%)
February 8.1
April 19.2
May 18.1
June 14.3
July 11.5
August 11.4
September 6.1
October 7.5

CA

Chaparral pea browse is rated as excellent to good for black-tailed
deer, depending on the season and the number of sprouts available. It
is fair to poor browse for sheep and goats, poor for cattle, and useless
for horses [20].

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Chaparral pea begins growth in February [11]. Plants flower from May
through June [16].

More info for the terms: density, frequency, shrub, shrubs

Data pertaining to postfire density, frequency, or growth rate of
chaparral pea sprouts were not found in the literature. Schlerophyllous
shrubs, including chaparral pea, typically sprout within a few weeks
following fire [7]. Sprouts grow most rapidly after late summer or fall
fires. Shrub canopy generally closes within 10 years postfire [18].

Postfire chaparral pea seedling recruitment appears to be scant. Zedler
[27] initially stated that the species did not colonize burn areas.
Later, he found that postfire colonization occurred but was rare [28].
One study of postfire recovery of mixed chaparral, conducted in
southwest San Diego County, showed a density of 4.6 chaparral pea
seedlings per square yard (3.8 plants/sq m) at the first postfire
growing season. Seedling mortality was 64 percent in the first year
[11].

More info for the terms: geophyte, root crown, shrub

Small shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
Geophyte, growing points deep in soil

More info for the term: root crown

The primary method of reproduction is vegetative. Most sources state
that chaparral pea spreads by sprouting from the roots [4,6,20,23].
Munz [16], however, stated that it spreads from rhizomes. Damaged
plants sprout from the roots and root crown [23,26].

Fruiting is rare [16,20]. Zedler [27] suggests that the few seeds that
do mature have high rates of sterility or low viability.

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains

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More info for the terms: climax, forest, shrubs, succession, woodland

Ecologists disagree as to the successional status of mixed chaparral. It
has been variously described as climax [7], fire-climax [4], or fire
subclimax [24]. Chaparral pea is a component of mature, mixed chaparral
communities [4,24]. Following fire or other disturbance, it is a
survivor, repopulating the initial community from sprouts [4]. Seedling
colonization following disturbance is largely unstudied. Chaparral pea
has tentatively been classified as having a low to intermediate rate of
seedling establishment in secondary succession [28]. In the absence of
fire or other disturbance, chaparral pea and associated chaparral shrubs
are replaced by oak woodland or coniferous forest [24].

Since chaparral pea grows in mixed evergreen forest, it is probably
moderately shade tolerant.

The currently accepted scientific name of chaparral pea is Pickeringia
montana Nutt. (Fabaceae) [16]. Pickeringia is a monotypic genus
[16,21]. There are two recognized subspecies: Pickeringia m. ssp.
montana and P. m. ssp. tomentosa (Abrams) Abrams. Pickeringia m. ssp.
tomentosa is distinguished by canescent young leaves and twigs [16].

Fire depletes nitrogen from chaparral soils. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
within chaparral pea root nodules increase soil fertility [18,22].

Chaparral pea provides watershed protection [11].

Perennial, Shrubs, Woody throughout, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems 1-2 m tall, Stems greater than 2 m tall, Trunk or stems armed with thorns, spines or prickles, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Leaves alternate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules deciduous, Leaves simple, or appearing so, Leaves compound, Leaves palmately 2-3 foliate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets 1, Leaflets 3, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence terminal, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Bracteoles present, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 4-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals blue, lavander to purple, o r violet, Petals bicolored or with red, purple or yellow streaks or spots, Banner petal suborbicular, broadly rounded, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens completely free, separate, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit stipitate, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit compressed between seeds, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 1-seeded, Fruit 2-seeded, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.