Russian peashrub is a perennial native to Asia in the Fabaceae (bean) family. It grows 2- 10 feet tall and nearly as wide. The yellow spring flowers and peapod-like fruits are its best features. This plant does best in climates with hot summers and cold winters with a clear movement from one season to the other. It may become frost-damaged in more temperate climates. Russian peashrub prefers full sun in sandy well-drained soils. It is tolerant of drought, wind, salt, and because of its nitrogen-fixing ability, poor soils. Use this plant in difficult sunny locations as slopes and poor soil as a hedge or for privacy. It will also help to improve the soil Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems VIDEO created by Grant L. Thompson for “ Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines for Landscaping ” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
3 feet-6 feet; 6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Multi-stemmed
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Cuneate; Obovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Palmate alternate compound leaves with 4 leaflets that are obovate to cuneate, apex rounded to emarginate. They are 1/4- 1 inches long. They turn yellow in fall.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower value
Showy
Flower shape
Lipped
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Bright yellow 1/2 to 1-inch pea-shaped flowers occur May and June. They are usuall single but can occur in clusters of 2-3.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Brown/Copper; Green
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Pea-like pods are 1.5-2 inches long with 3-5 seeds. The pod splits open when mature.
Bark color
Green; Light Gray
Bark detail
The bark is green with pale horizontal lenticels. Turns gray with age.
Stem color
Gray/Silver; Green
Stem detail
Stems are green aging to gray.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
China to Bulgaria
Distribution
Altay, Bulgaria, Central European Rus, East European Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, North Caucasus, South European Russi, Ukraine, West Siberia, Xinjiang