Flora of North America species comparison

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Amorpha herbacea

clusterspike false indigo
Habit Shrubs, (0.3–)0.6–1.2(–1.5) m; arising from thick, horizontal rootstock.
Stems

finely longitudinally grooved and ridged, often obscurely gland-dotted, sparsely to densely puberulent, glabrate, or glabrous.
Leaves

(6–)8–18(–24) cm;

stipules sometimes persistent, mostly acicular, (1–)1.2–2.5(–3) mm;

petiole (0.5–)1–10(–13) mm, gland-dotted, usually puberulent or strigulose, rarely glabrous;

rachis sparsely gland-dotted, often puberulent, sometimes glabrous;

leaflets (15–)23–45(–63), stipels acicular to setaceous, (0.4–)0.8–2 mm, petiolule (0.7–)1–2 mm, gland-dotted, usually puberulent, rarely glabrous, blade elliptic to oblong or ovate to suborbiculate, (7–)10–25(–32) × (3–)4–10(–5) mm, base obtuse to round or truncate to subcordate, margins often revolute, entire or inconspicuously crenulate, apex obtuse to round or emarginate, surfaces densely pubescent or glabrous;

midvein terminated by a swollen mucro, 0.2–0.8 mm, mucro sessile or short-stalked, glandlike.
Racemes

(1–)4–12(–20)-branched, (3–)10–18(–40) cm;

rachis sparsely gland-dotted, puberulent;

bracteoles mostly linear, (1.2–)1.8–2.5(–3) mm, gland-dotted, sparsely hairy.
Pedicels

(0.2–)0.4–1.2(–1.8) mm, sparsely gland-dotted, puberulent or, sometimes, glabrous.
Flowers

calyx tube turbinate to narrowly campanulate or cylindric, 1.5–2.5(–3) mm, distal 1/2–2/3 often gland-dotted, puberulent, short-pilose, strigulose, glabrate, or glabrous;

lobes: abaxial lobe narrowly triangular, slightly longer, adaxial lobes triangular or obtuse, (0.4–)0.5–1.2(–1.5) mm;

banner white, lavender, or violet, broadly obcordate, (4–)5–6(–7) × (2–)2.5–3.5 mm, distinctly clawed, margins entire or finely erose;

filaments 6–8 mm, distinct;

anthers yellow to yellowish orange;

ovary puberulent or glabrous.
Legumes

sessile, 4–6 × 1.8–2.5 mm, margins strongly curved outward abaxially, straight to slightly arched adaxially, distal 1/2–2/3 gland-dotted, puberulent or glabrous.
Seeds

not seen.

Amorpha herbacea
Distribution
from USDA
se United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Shrubs usually densely short-pubescent or puberulent at least distally, sometimes sparsely pubescent or glabrate; calyx tubes densely puberulent or short-pilose; legumes often densely to sparsely puberulent, sometimes proximal 1/3–1/2 glabrous, sometimes glabrous throughout.
var. herbacea
1. Shrubs usually glabrous or glabrate distally, sometimes sparsely pubescent; calyx tubes often glabrous or glabrate, sometimes strigulose; legumes usually glabrous.
var. floridana
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Amorpha
Sibling taxa
A. californica, A. canescens, A. confusa, A. crenulata, A. fruticosa, A. georgiana, A. glabra, A. laevigata, A. nana, A. nitens, A. ouachitensis, A. paniculata, A. roemeriana, A. schwerinii
Subordinate taxa
A. herbacea var. floridana, A. herbacea var. herbacea
Name authority Walter: Fl. Carol., 179. (1788)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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