beach pea

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Any of certain perennial herbs of the genus Lathyrus in the pea family, especially L. japonicus, native to shores of temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, having pinnately compound leaves and purplish flowers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun wild pea of seashores of north temperate zone having tough roots and purple flowers and useful as a sand binder