Flora of North America species comparison

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Galega officinalis

Galega

common goat's-rue, French lilac, galéga officinal, goat's rue, professor-weed

goat's rue, professor-weed
Habit Herbs, perennial, unarmed, non-aromatic (slightly sulfur-scented); caudex woody.
Stems

clumped from caudex, 40–140 cm.

erect or ascending, not glandular, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
Leaves

(6–)8–20 × (3–)6–10 cm;

stipules opposite petiole, base sagittate, margins toothed;

leaflet blades linear-elliptic, (15–)30–50 × 25–18 mm, apex mucronate.

alternate, odd-pinnate;

stipules present, persistent, deeply lobed, base sagittate; petiolate;

leaflets 9–17(or 19), blade margins entire, surfaces glabrous or glabrate.
Inflorescences

15–30(–38)-flowered, axillary, racemes;

bracts present, persistent after anthesis, subulate.
Pedicels

reflexed at anthesis, erect in fruit, 2–4.5 mm, glabrous.

Flowers

calyx campanulate, subactinomorphic, tube 2–2.5 mm, 10-veined, glabrous, teeth subequal, puberulent or glabrous;

banner shallowly lobed, wings equal or subequal to keel, keel 7–11 mm, apex blunt.

papilionaceous;

calyx campanulate, lobes 5;

corolla bluish lilac, reddish purple, or white;

stamens 10, monadelphous, dimorphic;

anthers alternately basifixed and versatile, versatile anthers on shorter filaments;

ovary 2-loculed.
Fruits

legumes, stipitate, terete, elongated, torulose, linear-cylindric, dehiscent, glabrous.
Legumes

ascending, light green, shallowly torulose with constrictions between seeds, sutures prominent, 25–45 × 2–3 mm.

Seeds

2–10, oblong.
x

= 8.
2n

= 16.

Galega officinalis

Galega
Phenology Flowering early spring–late summer.
Habitat Disturbed sites.
Elevation 10–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; CT; DC; FL; ID; IN; MA; ME; NE; NY; OH; OR; PA; UT; WA; WV; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
e Europe; w Asia; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Galega officinalis was introduced as a forage plant in northern Utah during the early twentieth century by a professor at the Utah Agricultural College. The species quickly became weedy in agricultural sites and it was given the local name professor weed; it has become a noxious weed in most of its range in North America. The plants contain toxic alkaloids.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species ca. 5 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11. Author: Leila M. Shultz.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Galega Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae
Subordinate taxa
G. officinalis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 714. (1753) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 714. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 320. (1754)
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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