Every day there are new signs of spring. In addition to the three pairs of Piping Plovers and a Killdeer (both first of year for me this year), while walking on the beach on Friday, I also noticed a number of new plants, flowering and leafing out, as well as new growth emerging from herbaceous plants.  This new growth greatly expands the options for foraging.  One such edible plant is the beach pea, which was sprouting in numerous places at the base of the dunes.

Beach peas (Lathyrus japonicus var maritimus) are herbaceous perennial plants found on sandy coasts along much of New England, and are common on the dunes and beaches on Cape Cod. During the summer these plants produce showy purple pea-like flowers, but this weekend, their first shoots and leaves were just beginning to emerge from the sand.  Most of the plants we spotted were only about 6 inches tall.  Their small stature would make them easy to overlook amongst the other vegetation, but the reddish coloration of the new stems and leaves helped us locate these plants easily.  The leaves are pinnately compound with 3-5 pairs of smooth oval leaflets that are each 1 to 2 inches long, about half as wide, and narrowed at both ends. When mature, the leaves will be green. Stems are angled.

New beach pea shoots emerging from the sand. 

The young shoots and leaves are edible, and can be eaten raw in salads, or cooked as a pot herb.  We brought home a bag full of young beach pea shoots and lightly sautéed them for a delicious vegetable side dish.  The flavor, unsurprisingly, was similar to the flavor of peas.  There are mixed opinions, however, on whether the peas and pea pods, which will develop later in the summer, are ok to eat.  Some sources say yes, some say no, and some say only in moderation due to the presence of a toxic amino acid.  I suppose I have until late summer to get to the bottom of this one.

Harvested beach peas. 

Sautéing the beach pea shoots. 

Cooked beach peas ready to eat.