It is also found on Santa Cruz Island. Pickeringia montana ssp. Chaparral pea occurs in mixed chaparral but is not usually dominant. Chaparral pea is important browse for black-tailed deer. Chaparral pea browse is rated as excellent to good for black-tailed deer, depending on the season and the number of sprouts available.
Fire depletes nitrogen from chaparral soils.
Black-tailed deer rarely browse chaparral pea in dense older stands. The fruit is a legume containing 6 to 10 seeds. The primary method of reproduction is vegetative. Facultative Seral Species Ecologists disgree as to the successional status of mixed chaparral. Seedling colonization following disturbance is largely unstudied.