Pisum sativum L. is two subspecies , sativum and elatius (Bieb.) Aschers. & Graebn, subsp. sativum is split into var. sativum and arvense (L.) Poiret and subsp. elatius is split into var. elatius, var. brevipedunculatum Davis & Meikle and var. pumilio Meikle (syn. P. humile Boiss. & Noë).  Of these vars. sativum, arvense and elatius are cultivated to varying extent, the garden pea is subsp. sativum var. sativum is the garden pea and all other varieties contribute to its gene pool (Maxted and Ambrose 2001).

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)

This wild varieties of Pisum sativum are widespread in Europe and throughout the range they are currently relatively stable therefore as a whole the species is considered in a regional assessment to be Least Concern.

P. sativum is native in parts of east, southeastern and southwestern Europe, as well as in western Asia, the Caucasus, and northern and northeast tropical Africa. The taxon is cultivated worldwide and widely naturalized. (USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program 2010)

In Portugal, P. sativum ssp. sativum is known to occur in Alto Alentejo (south of the country) (Castroviejo et al. 1999–2000) whereas, P. sativum ssp. elatius is widely distributed (Magos Brehm 2004).

In France it is widespread, occurs in the majority of departments although largely absent in central and northwestern departments (Association Tela Botanica 2010).

It does not occur on inventory lists in the Netherlands, however it is cultivated widely in the country.

The exact population size of the wild varieties is unknown, but as a whole they are considered relatively common throughout their range (Maxted and Ambrose 2001).

Wild Pisum sativum is found primarily in disturbed land on the edges of cultivation (Maxted and Ambrose 2001). In Portugal and Spain, P. sativum tends to occur in pastures, shrublands, track borders and cultivated fields; it is sometimes cultivated or escaped from cultivation (Talavera et al. 1999–2000). P. sativus ssp. elatius occurs as a non ruderal taxon in open areas.

The wild varieties tends to grow on the edges of cultivation and as such are currently threatened by changes in land management, more extensive use of herbicides, increase in fires and climate change.

The five varieties of P. sativum that occur in Europe are primary wild relatives of and potential gene donors to the garden pea. The species contains a number of cultivated taxa the two varieties of P. sativum ssp. sativum and ssp. elatius which is cultivated as fodder pea.

The genus Pisum is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture as part of the garden pea gene pool.

Overall P. sativum is well represented in ex situ germplasm collections, with accessions being primarily held by N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Plant Industry (St. Petersburg, Russian Federation), Aegean Agricultural Research Institiute (Menemen, Turkey); ICARDA (Aleppo, Syria) and University of Reading (Reading, UK) gene banks (Maxted and Ambrose 2001). It would be beneficial to review that all varieties are represented by accessions from throughout their geographic range.

EURISCO reports 20,201 germplasm accessions held in European genebanks, 536 of which are reported to be of wild or weedy origin. Of the wild accessions, 85 originate from within Europe (EURISCO Catalogue 2010).

Although it occurs in protected areas, there is no active management, but it is likely to be passively conserved in many existing protected areas  throughout its range. As its conservation in these sites is not actively monitored it may be subject to population loss over time from factors such as climate change.

In Slovakia, P. sativum ssp. arvense is classified as Endangered (Eliáš et al. 2007). P. sativum ssp. elatius is classified as Endangered in Switzerland (Moser et al. 2002).