Another tough one. He says that this fruit looks like a small bean, but that they call it a pea because the fruit is smaller. They wish to distinguish it from the larger fruit that they call a bean. It seems to me that this is just a smaller type of bean, and not a pea. Unfortunately there are many species in NC that fit this general description. It is also possible that they are referring to another cultivated bean, not native to NC. All I can say is that this was probably a member of the bean family, Fabaceae. - Dr. Vince Bellis