Galactia
Galactia brachypoda
milkpea
smooth creeping milkpea
procumbent or twining and climbing, glabrous or with spreading or appressed hairs.
procumbent, creeping, not rooting at nodes, sometimes weakly twining distally, minutely strigose, hairs retrorsely or antrorsely appressed;
some or most internodes, especially proximally, longer than largest leaflet of adjacent node.
alternate, unifoliolate or odd-pinnate;
stipules present, deciduous or persistent;
petiolate;
leaflets 1 or 3(–9), stipels persistent, blades 6–85 mm, margins entire, surfaces pubescent or glabrous.
3, blades elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate or broadly lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, sometimes linear-elliptic, (8–)15–45(–60) × (4–)10–25(–32) mm, ± leathery, veins slightly but distinctly raised on adaxial or both surfaces, apex obtuse to rounded or shallowly retuse, surfaces moderately to densely short-strigose with closely appressed hairs and lighter green but not glaucous abaxially, glabrous or sparsely short-strigose or minutely hirtellous and darker, slightly glossy or not adaxially.
1–25(–38)-flowered, axillary [terminal], usually pseudoracemes, pedunculate or without axis and flowers in axillary fascicles, sometimes flowers solitary;
rachis with slightly swollen nodes;
bracts present, setaceous;
bracteoles minute, caducous, rarely tardily so.
flowers usually (3–)5–15(–25), rarely 1 or 2, in pseudoracemes on distal 3/4 of shorter axes or usually on distal 1/5–1/4 of longer axes, often fasciculate distally;
axis (5–)20–80(–150) mm.
papilionaceous, solitary, paired, or fascicles of 2 or 3 at nodes;
calyx campanulate, lobes 5 appearing as 4, adaxial 2 completely connate;
corolla usually purplish to bluish, pink, rose, violet, or lavender, rarely white [red], 6–15(–17) mm;
petals subequal, banner orbiculate to ovate or obovate-orbiculate, margins slightly inflexed or appendaged, apex rounded, wings narrow or obovate, adherent to keel, keel obtuse and almost straight, subequal to or longer than wings, carinate or moderately incurved;
stamens 10, diadelphous [pseudomonadelphous], vexillary stamen free or proximally connate from middle;
anthers dorsifixed;
ovary subsessile;
style filiform, glabrous;
stigma terminal, capitate;
nectary at ovary base.
calyx 5–7 mm, sparsely strigose to glabrate, lobes greenish yellow to tan on inner surface when dry;
corolla not persisting after anthesis, lavender or violet to purplish, bright pink, or pinkish, lighter when dry, 11–15 mm.
legumes, sessile, brown, laterally compressed, straight or weakly to strongly falcate, linear, with false septae between seeds, elastically dehiscent, pubescent.
straight, (25–)30–60 × 4–5(–6) mm, densely strigose to strigose-sericeous, glabrescent.
1–12, brown or brownish orange, flattened, oblong, 3–7 mm, estrophiolate.
(3–)5–8(–12).
= 10.
Galactia
Galactia brachypoda
Species ca. 110 (21 in the flora).
Most Galactia species are native to the Americas, distributed fairly evenly across the southeastern and south-central United States, Mexico, West Indies, Central America, and South America. Diversity in the flora area is concentrated in Florida and Texas, with relatively fewer species in Mexico and Central America. Three species of Galactia are native to Asia, Africa, and Australia. An overview of the genus in the flora area and a summary of previous studies worldwide were provided in G. L. Nesom (2015). The Texas species G. watsoniana W. C. Holmes & Singhurst is a synonym of Cologania pallida Rose (Nesom).
Three sections have been recognized within Galactia (A. Burkart 1971), emphasizing the South American species. Most species of Galactia, including all of those in the flora area, are placed in sect. Odonia (Bertoloni) Burkart in the sense of Burkart.
Galactia forms a group in the Diocleinae Bentham together with three or four other genera: Camptosema Hooker & Arnott, Collaea de Candolle, and Lackeya. R. H. Maxwell and D. W. Taylor (2003) included the Caribbean Rhodopis Urban in their Galactia clade. Phylogenetic studies indicate that Galactia is not monophyletic (L. P. de Queiroz et al. 2003; S. M. Sede et al. 2008, 2009; G. B. Ceolin 2011), but relatively few species have been included in analyses. Galactia appears to be paraphyletic without the inclusion of some species of Camptosema and perhaps the entire genus Collaea. In addition, the sections as circumscribed by Burkart do not appear to be monophyletic.
R. H. Maxwell (1979) placed the eastern North American Dioclea multiflora in Galactia as G. mohlenbrockii R. H. Maxwell; R. H. Fortunato et al. (1996) segregated D. multiflora as the monospecific Lackeya. This placement is supported by molecular analyses (L. P. de Queiroz et al. 2015).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Galactia brachypoda is a coastal plain species that ranges from Maryland and Virginia to Alabama. The species is characterized by its essentially prostrate habit, mostly non-twining, short-strigose (antrorse or retrorse) stems (sometimes weakly twining distally), subcoriaceous leaflets with raised venation, and relatively large corollas. Plants of G. brachypoda with distally twining stems and relatively small leaves might be mistaken for G. regularis; the latter has climbing and consistently twining stems with looser and non-appressed vestiture, thinner leaves, and longer inflorescences with curved axes and smaller, less congested flowers.
W. H. Duncan (1979b) mapped three morpho-geographic entities of Galactia brachypoda, emphasizing stem vestiture; the widespread entity has appressed-retrorse hairs, while the other two have appressed-antrorse hairs. There appears to be no other difference that would consistently distinguish among these population systems and thus all are identified here as G. brachypoda. Analogous, alternate orientation of cauline vestiture occurs in G. joselyniae, G. microphylla, G. pinetorum, and G. smallii (G. L. Nesom 2015).
Many plants having antrorse hairs are encountered in Georgia, South Carolina, and southeastern North Carolina; these have narrower leaflets than elsewhere in the range.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaflets 1. | G. marginalis |
1. Leaflets 3 or 5–9. | → 2 |
2. Leaflets 5–9. | → 3 |
3. Leaflets (5 or)7(or 9); corollas white; flowers 3–11, distal on axis; Florida, Georgia, South Carolina. | G. elliottii |
3. Leaflets 5; corollas pink to purple, purple-red, violet-red, or lavender; flowers axillary, solitary or 2–5 in pseudoracemes; Texas. | G. heterophylla |
2. Leaflets usually 3, rarely 5. | → 4 |
4. Stems mostly erect, not twining, usually alternately bent at nodes; inflorescences subsessile, flowers 1–6. | G. erecta |
4. Stems procumbent or climbing-twining, not bent at nodes; inflorescences pedunculate, flowers 2–25(–38), or sessile or subsessile and 1-flowered. | → 5 |
5. Stems climbing-twining. | → 6 |
6. Corollas 11–14(–15) mm; stems loosely strigose with short, loosely appressed, retrorse hairs, strongly lignescent. | G. fasciculata |
6. Corollas 7–11(–14) mm; stems strigose to hirsute or hirsute-pilose, herbaceous to ± lignescent (G. striata). | → 7 |
7. Banners striped with white lines; localities coastal and near-coast. | G. striata |
7. Banners not striped; localities inland to coastal. | → 8 |
8. Legumes falcate; flowers 1–5, solitary and subsessile or 2–5 on inflorescence axis 1–4(–40) mm. | G. texana |
8. Legumes straight; flowers 1–8(–16), solitary and pedicellate or 2–8(–16) on inflorescence axis 10–150(–280) mm. | → 9 |
9. Stems strigose with antrorse hairs; leaflet blades linear-oblong to narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic, 2–4(–6) mm wide; Florida. | G. grisebachii |
9. Stems strigose or hirsute to hirsute-villous with spreading-deflexed or retrorse hairs; leaflet blades oblong to elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, 5–21(–25) mm wide; Texas, or broadly distributed in c, e United States. | → 10 |
10. Leaflet blades narrowly oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 6–14 mm wide; legumes 35–65 mm; seeds 12–15; Florida, Texas. | G. longifolia |
10. Leaflet blades elliptic to broadly elliptic or oblong to lanceolate-elliptic, 5–21(–25) mm wide; legumes 20–50(–52) mm; seeds 5–11; c, e United States including Texas. | → 11 |
11. Leaflet blades mostly elliptic to broadly elliptic, (5–)10–21(–25) mm wide; stems moderately to densely hirsute to hirsute-villous with spreading-deflexed hairs; corollas 7–10 mm. | G. regularis |
11. Leaflet blades oblong to lanceolate-elliptic, 5–15(–17) mm wide; stems sparsely to moderately strigose with tightly to loosely appressed, retrorse hairs, sometime glabrate; corollas 9–14 mm. | G. volubilis |
5. Stems procumbent at least proximally, not distinctly climbing-twining, sometimes weakly twining distally. | → 12 |
12. Herbs usually producing filiform rhizomes at nodes, these producing subterranean flowers and 1-seeded fruits. | G. canescens |
12. Herbs without rhizomes at nodes, without subterranean flowers and fruits. | → 13 |
13. Calyx lobes brown to reddish brown on inner surface when dry; corollas distinctly dark reddish when dry, persisting after anthesis, sometimes still present in mature fruit. | G. mollis |
13. Calyx lobes greenish yellow to tan on inner surface when dry; corollas light whitish to blue, pinkish, or purplish when dry, not persisting after anthesis. | → 14 |
14. Leaflets ± leathery to leathery, veins raised on both surfaces. | → 15 |
15. Leaflet blades mostly linear-oblong or narrowly oblong, 2–8(–11) mm wide; Florida. | G. pinetorum |
15. Leaflet blades elliptic, oblanceolate-elliptic, oblong-elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate, or broadly lanceolate, (4–)7–25(–32) mm wide; Florida and Alabama north to New Jersey. | → 16 |
16. Stems: several to most internodes (especially those toward base) longer than largest leaflet of adjacent nodes, hairs on stem 0.1–0.8 mm; leaflet blades (4–)10–25(–32) mm wide; flowers usually (3–)5–15(–25), rarely 1 or 2. | G. brachypoda |
16. Stems: internodes usually shorter, sometimes longer, than largest leaflet of adjacent nodes, hairs on stems 0.1–0.3 mm; leaflet blades (4–)7–10(–18) mm wide; flowers solitary or 2–4. | G. minor |
14. Leaflets herbaceous, veins not raised (except strong raised abaxially in G. joselyniae). | → 17 |
17. Stems strigose; Arizona, New Mexico, Texas. | → 18 |
18. Leaflet blades oblong-elliptic to elliptic-ovate; flowers (2–)5–18(–30), corollas 11–12 mm. | G. wrightii |
18. Leaflet blades mostly broadly oblong-elliptic to suborbiculate; flowers solitary or 2–8, corollas 6–8 mm. | G. joselyniae |
17. Stems tomentose to hirsute-villous or hirsute; se United States. | → 19 |
19. Leaflet blades (14–)20–55 × (10–)15–35 mm; flowers 5–12(–25). | G. floridana |
19. Leaflet blades 8–30 × 5–20 mm; flowers solitary and axillary or 2–6. | → 20 |
20. Inflorescence axis 10–20 mm; calyces 3–4 mm; corollas 6–7 mm; Florida panhandle, s Alabama. | G. microphylla |
20. Inflorescence axis (5–)20–60(–90) mm; calyces 6–7 mm; corollas 10–15 mm; s Florida. | G. smallii |
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