Beach bean is a herbaceous vine that trails along beaches and coastal
areas. The thick, fleshy stem can grow to 20 ft or more in length and more
than 1 in in diameter. The stem is rather woody near the base and several
branches radiate outward, forming mats of light green semisucculent
foliage. Beach bean has compound leaves with three thick, more or less
rounded, fleshy leaflets, each about 2-3 in long. The leaflets fold up
under the hot sun at midday. The flowers are typical pea flowers, purplish
pink, about 2 in long and borne in erect spikes on long stalks. Beach bean
blooms most of the summer and sporadically the rest of the year. The pods
are flat and 4-6 in long. They are prominently ridged and woody when
mature.
Identification credit: Dinesh Valke
Photographed in Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh.
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The flower labeled Beach Bean is ...