Flora of North America species comparison

erect, ascending, procumbent, or trailing, often woody near base in herbs, usually branched, pubescent or glabrescent.

procumbent or trailing, initially ascending, becoming decumbent with continued growth, clustered, slender, to 100 cm, branched much of length, sericeous or glabrescent.

alternate, trifoliolate, often larger on medial stems than those subtending inflorescences;

stipules present, usually persistent (caducous in L. texana), ciliate, striate-veined, apex acuminate;

petiolate proximally, sessile or subsessile distally;

stipels absent;

leaflets 3, blade margins entire, ciliate, main lateral veins anastomosing before reaching margin, surfaces glabrous or pubescent;

lateral leaflets pulvinate, sessile or subsessile, blade often ± oblique;

terminal leaflet usually petiolulate (sometimes sessile in L. repens), usually larger than laterals.

stipules subulate, 2–3(–4) mm;

petiole 7–10(–15) mm, equaling or longer than rachis;

leaflet blades usually narrowly elliptic to elliptic, rarely obovate, apex obtuse, scarcely or minutely apiculate, surfaces sericeous abaxially, sparsely sericeous or glabrescent adaxially;

laterals similar to terminal;

terminal blade petiolulate or sessile, 10–20(–25) × 5–10 mm, length 1.5–2.5(–3) times width.

2–6(–10)-flowered, erect, flowers not clustered at apex, flowers chasmogamous and cleistogamous.

(1 or)2–40-flowered, axillary or appearing terminal due to reduction of subtending leaves, pseudoracemes, consisting of clusters of 2–4 flowers, rarely capitate, sometimes appearing paniclelike when subtending leaves reduced, cleistogamous flowers often in proximal fascicles, bracteolate;

bracts present, 1, subtending each flower cluster;

bracteoles 2, subtending each flower.

longer than subtending leaves, filiform, usually sericeous, sometimes glabrescent.

0.5–4 mm, appressed-puberulent;

bracteoles shorter than calyx tube.

papilionaceous, chasmogamous or cleistogamous, chasmogamous pedicellate or subsessile, cleistogamous enclosed in calyx with reduced corolla;

calyx campanulate, lobes 4 or 5, often longer than tube, adaxial 2 distinct or proximally ± connate (and thus calyx 4-lobed), apex 2-toothed;

corolla pink to purple, lavender, magenta, reddish purple, or white to pale yellow;

banner broadly obovate to orbiculate, proximally clawed or cuneate, with inflexed auricles, darker purple marks (nectar guides) at throat of adaxial surface of lamina;

wings and keel long-clawed, lamina elliptic-oblong, proximally rounded;

stamens 10, diadelphous;

anthers dorsifixed (uniform);

disc present around base of ovary;

ovary minutely stipitate;

style adaxially incurved, slightly exserted from stamens;

stigma minute, terminal.

chasmogamous 6–8 mm;

calyx 3–4 mm, appressed-puberulent, tube 1 mm;

lobes 4, lateral narrowly deltate, 2–2.5 mm, adaxial connate proximally;

corolla usually pink-lavender to violet, rarely whitish;

wings 7–7.5 mm;

keel 6.8–7.3 mm.

loments, usually subsessile, sometimes stipitate (sessile in L. procumbens), unilocular, strongly compressed laterally, indehiscent, papery, usually appressed-pubescent, sericeous, or villous;

loments from chasmogamous flowers usually subsessile, sometimes stipitate, usually elliptic-ovate or suborbicular to rounded, style straight;

loments from cleistogamous flowers sessile, usually crowded at base of peduncle, obovate to suborbicular, slightly smaller than chasmogamous, style curved and relatively short.

1, asymmetrical, ellipsoid or oblong, rim-arillate, chasmogamous seeds slightly longer or similar to cleistogamous.

chasmogamous exserted from calyx, calyx 1/2 loment length, rounded to elliptic, 4–7 × 3–4 mm, cleistogamous rare, exserted from calyx, calyx 1/4–1/3 loment length;

stipe 1.5 mm.

= 9, 10, 11.

= 20.