Vigna marina is a prostrate, creeping vine and a perennial plant. Also known as the beach pea, nanea, and notched cowpea, it is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae, (the peas).
The genus 'Vigna' is named for Dominico Vigna, an Italian doctor and horticulturalist who was a professor of botany at the University of Pisa; he died in 1647. The specific epithet 'marina', from the Latin word for 'sea', refers to the plant's coastal habitat.
Synonyms of this species include:
In Hawaii, this plant ...