Synonyms:

• (=) Dolichos luteus Sw.
• Basionym: Phaseolus marinus Burm.
• (=) Scytalis retusa E. Mey.
• (=) Vigna lutea (Sw.) A. Gray
• (=) Vigna retusa (E. Mey.) Walp.

Common names:

• dune-bean  (Source: Dict Rehm) - English
• notched cowpea  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• sea-bean  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• vigna marina  (Source: Mult Glossary Crops) - Italian
• hama-azuki  (Source: F JapanOhwi) - Japanese Rōmaji
• hama-sasage  (Source: F Okin) - Japanese Rōmaji
• batatarana  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Portuguese
• bin jiang dou  (Source: F ChinaEng) - Transcribed Chinese

Economic Importance:

• Environmental: soil improver (locally used in Asia and Africa fide Paludosi & Ng 1993)
• Gene sources: potential for drought resistance in cowpeas (fide Padulosi & Ng 1993)
• Gene sources: potential for salt tolerance in cowpeas (fide Padulosi & Ng 1993)

Distributional Range:

Native

Africa

• EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Tanzania (coast)
• WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon (coast), Congo (coast), Equatorial Guinea (coast), Gabon (coast), Zaire (coast)
• WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin (coast), Ghana (coast), Liberia (coast), Nigeria (coast)
• SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique (coast)
• SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal (coast)]
• WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar (coast), Seychelles (coast)

Asia-Temperate

• CHINA: China [Hainan]
• EASTERN ASIA: Japan, [Kyushu (coast), Ryukyu Islands (coast)] Taiwan (coast)

Asia-Tropical

• INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Maldives (coast), Sri Lanka (coast)
• PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea (coast), Solomon Islands
• INDO-CHINA: Thailand (coast), Vietnam (coast)
• MALESIA: Indonesia (coast), Malaysia (coast), Philippines (coast)

Australasia

• AUSTRALIA: Australia [New South Wales (n.e.), Queensland (coast), Northern Territory (coast)]

Pacific

• NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Micronesia
• SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: French Polynesia
• SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Vanuatu

Southern America

• CARIBBEAN: Cuba (coast), Jamaica (coast), Puerto Rico (coast)
• CENTRAL AMERICA: Panama (coast)
• BRAZIL: Brazil [Bahia (coast)]


Cultivated (also cult.)

References:

1. Aubréville, A. et al., eds. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam. 1960- (F CambLVN)
2. Chinese Academy of Sciences Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. 1959- (F China)
3. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. 1980- (F Ceylon)
4. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS) Australian plant common name database (on-line resource). (Aust Pl Common Names)
5. International Seed Testing Association A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2. 1982 (Mult Glossary Crops)
6. Lewis, G. P. Legumes of Bahia. 1987 (Leg Bahia)
7. Lock, J. M. Legumes of Africa: a checklist. 1989 (Leg Africa)
8. Ohwi, J. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.). (F JapanOhwi)
9. Padulosi, S. & N. Q. Ng 1993. A useful and unexploited herb, Vigna marina (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) and the taxonomic revision of its genetic diversity Bull. Jard. Bot. Natl. Belg. 62:119-126.
10. Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994 (Dict Rehm)
11. Sanjappa, M. Legumes of India. 1992 (Leg India)
12. Walker, E. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands. (F Okin)
13. Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. Flora of Panama. 1943-1980 (F Panama)
14. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. Flora of China (English edition). 1994- (F ChinaEng)

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://germoplasma.iniaf.gob.bo/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=41617. Accessed 30 mayo 2026.