Caragana arborescens
Siberian caragana, Siberian pea shrub, Siberian pea tree, Siberian pea tree or shrub
erect, branched from near base, branchlets pubescent;
bark gray-brown.
even-pinnate;
stipules 5–9 mm, spine-tipped or not;
petiole 1–10 cm;
rachis present, deciduous, 3–9 cm, spinescent;
leaflets 6–12(or 14), blades elliptic or obovate to broadly oblong, 1–4 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base rounded to cuneate, apex rounded or truncate, mucronate, surfaces villous or glabrescent.
with (1 or)2–4(or 5) flowers per fascicle;
peduncle-pedicel 1–6 cm, usually pubescent (often glabrous in fruit).
calyx broadly campanulate, 4.5–8 mm, teeth broadly triangular, 1–1.5 mm, sometimes appearing unlobed, pubescent or glabrescent, orifice villous;
corolla yellow, 1.5–2.3 cm.
reddish brown to brown, linear to oblong, 2.5–6 × 0.4–0.7 cm.
3–8, grayish yellow to dark or reddish brown, oblong or ovoid to 4-angled, 4–6 mm.
= 16.
Caragana arborescens
Caragana arborescens is the most commonly cultivated Caragana in North America. It is cultivated in almost every Canadian province and in the United States from Maine to Oregon, from Alaska to California, and from North Dakota to Oklahoma; it is naturalized somewhat more narrowly. Shrubs may persist in cultivation and be found in abandoned yards and gardens. The plants are valued for drought and cold resistance and are planted both as an ornamental and for windbreaks. The shoots have been used for cordage; the leaves contain a blue pigment used as a dye; the seeds can be used as food for birds; and the nectar of the flowers provide food for bees (A. I. Pojarkova 1971b). There are named cultivars or varieties of Siberian pea tree, which often are based on growth form or leaflet size and shape.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
WA
Flora NW
Go Botany
IL Wildflowers
MI Flora
MN Wildflowers
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
