Beach Pea (Lathyrus japonicus)-Family: Pea Family - Flowers: Summer; Blue/Violet; Irregular Flowers - Leaves: Compound/Divided; Entire Flowers - Purple, butterfly-shaped, consisting of standard petal, wings, and keel: 1 in. long or less, clustered in short raceme at end of slender footstalk from leaf axils; calyx 5-toothed; stamens 10 (9 and 1); style curved, flattened, bearded on inner side. Stem: 1 to 2 ft. long, stout, reclining, spreading, leafy. Leaves: Compounded of 3 to 6 pairs of oblong leaflets somewhat larger than halbert-shaped stipules at base of leaf; branched tendrils at end of it. Fruit: A flat, 2-valued, veiny pod, continuous between the seeds. Preferred Habitat - Beaches of Atlantic and Pacific oceans, also of great Lakes. Flowering Season - May-August. Sometimes blooming again in autumn.