This species was until recently known as Otholobium decumbens (Aiton) C.H.Stirt.

Fabaceae is derived from the Latin word Faba meaning ‘bean'. The older name Leguminosa e is still considered valid and it refers to the fruit of which are called legumes. The genus name Otholobium (pronounced oh-tho-LOH-bee-um) comes from the Greek words otheo meaning to ‘burst forth' and lobion meaning ‘small pod'. The specific epithet, virgatum (pronounced vir-GAY-tum) is derived from Latin meaning ‘wand-like', referring to the tall, twiggy-like bare stems.

Fabaceae is the third largest family of flowering plants after Asteraceae and Orchidaceae. The pea family occurs worldwide except in Antarctica and the high Arctic and comprises of trees which are often found in tropical regions, whereas, shrubs, perennials and annuals are predominant in extra tropical regions. The leaves of Fabaceae are mostly alternate, usually compound, sometimes needle like, often visibly stipulate. Inflorescence is usually a raceme, sometimes tightly clustered. Flowers are mostly yellow, or pink to purple, regular or irregular. They are often sweet pea-shaped, with mostly 5 sepals, and often joined into a cup; petals mostly 5, the uppermost largest and forming a flag, the lower 2 are joined into a keel hiding the stamens and style, and the laterals forming wings. Stamens are mostly twice as many as the petals, frequently united into a split tube, ovary superior, style slender, usually hooked at the tip. Fruit a pod with seeds in 1 row. The pea family comprises of 650 genera and +/-18 000 woody and herbaceous species, of which southern Africa has 149 genera and 1705 species.

Worldwide, the family supplies a number of important agricultural and food plants such as soybean, lentils, chickpeas, pea, beans, alfalfa, peanut, carob and Liquorice, forage crops like Lucerne, ornamentals, tropical hardwoods, dyes, and insecticides. A number of species are also weedy pests in different parts of the world. In our areas we have 2 weeds.