Flora of North America species comparison

flexuosa tends to have larger leaves (4–14 cm) with more leaflet pairs (usually 25–65, rarely as few as 20).

chamaecristoides appears to be one of the first flowering plants to colonize coastal sand dunes (especially in the Gulf of Mexico), where it contributes to decreased sand movement, ultimately stabilizing the dunes (M.

.

and P.

-Casasola 1998).

varieties are recognized in C. chamaecristoides.

var. cruziana is an annual herb that sometimes survives the winter, the other two varieties, var. brandegeei (Britton & Rose) H.

.

& Barneby and var. chamaecristoides, are perennials that occur only in Mexico and differ from each other and var. cruziana in the width of their pods, 3–4 mm and 5–6 mm, respectively.