Pediomelum cuspidatum |
Pediomelum linearifolium |
|
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largebract Indian breadroot, tallbread scurfpea |
narrowleaf Indian breadroot, slimleaf scurfpea |
|
Habit | Herbs caulescent, to 100+ cm, mostly glandular throughout, strigose becoming glabrate. | Herbs caulescent, to 175 cm, glandular and sparsely strigose or glabrate. |
Stems | 1+, decumbent to erect-ascending, much branched, leaves dispersed along stems; pseudoscapes rarely branched, 0–14 cm; cataphylls 0–13 mm. |
erect, several branched distally, leaves dispersed along stems; pseudoscapes 0; cataphylls often deciduous, sometime persistent, 5–12 mm. |
Leaves | palmately 3–5-foliolate; stipules persistent, erect to reflexed, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 6–15 × 1–5 mm, glandular, pubescent; petiole enlarged but not jointed basally, often canaliculate, 5–40 mm, sparsely strigose; petiolules 1.5–3.5 mm; leaflet blades oblanceolate to elliptic, oblong, or obovate, 2–4.8 × 0.5–2 cm, base cuneate, apex acute to obtuse or apiculate, surfaces abaxially pubescent, adaxially glabrous. |
palmately 3(or 4)-foliolate, or unifoliolate when subtending inflorescences; stipules tardily deciduous or persistent, linear-lanceolate to elliptic or rhombic, 3–10(–12) × 0.5–1.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose; petiole not swollen or jointed basally, terete to slightly canaliculate, 3–11 mm; petiolules 0.5–3 mm; leaflet blades linear or narrowly to broadly elliptic, 2–6 × 0.3–0.6 cm, base attenuate, apex acuminate to apiculate, surfaces black-glandular, abaxially pubescent, adaxially glabrous. |
Inflorescences | persistent, ellipsoid to elongate; rachis 1.5–8.5 cm, nodes (2–)6–17, 3 flowers per node, internodes to 13 mm; bracts persistent, erect to reflexed, lanceolate, 4–17 × 1–6 mm, glandular, pubescent. |
persistent, elongate, lax; rachis 1.2–9.5 cm, nodes 3–7, (1–)3 flowers per node, internodes to 22 mm; bracts persistent, lanceolate to orbiculate, 1.5–3.5 × 1–1.5 mm, apex often apiculate, glandular and glabrous or abaxially pubescent. |
Peduncles | 0.6–15 cm, longer than subtending petiole, strigose. |
0.8–10.5 cm, much longer than subtending petiole, appressed-pubescent. |
Pedicels | 2–3 mm. |
3.5–10 mm. |
Flowers | 12–22 mm; calyx strongly gibbous-campanulate in fruit, 9–15 mm abaxially, 8–12 mm adaxially, glandular, pubescent; tube 4–5.5 mm; abaxial lobe lanceolate to elliptic, 8–19 × 2–3.5 mm, adaxial lobes lanceolate, 4–7 × 1–1.5 mm; corolla blue, purple, or violet, banner broadly oblanceolate to obovate, 13–21 × 7–8 mm with claw 4–6 mm, wings 12–18.5 × 3–4 mm with claw 4–7.5 mm, keel 9–13 × 4–7 mm with claw 2.5–3 mm; filaments 8–12 mm; anthers elliptic, 0.5–0.6 mm; ovary glabrous or pubescent and glandular on distal 1/4–1/3, style pubescent basally. |
8–11 mm; calyx slightly enlarging in fruit becoming broadly and shallowly campanulate but not gibbous, 4.5–6 mm abaxially, 4–5.5 mm adaxially, glandular, appressed-pubescent, sometimes sparsely so; tube 2.5–4 mm; lobes triangular, abaxial 2–4 × 1.5–2.5 mm, adaxial 1.5–3.5 × 1–2 mm; corolla usually blue-violet to violet-purple, sometimes white, banner usually lighter in throat, oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 8–11.5 × 5–7 mm with claw 2–2.5 mm, wings 8–11.5 × 2–3 mm with claw 2–4 mm, keel 6–7 × 2–2.5 mm with claw 3–3.5 mm; filaments 6–6.5 mm; anthers elliptic, 0.5 mm; ovary glabrous, sometimes minutely pubescent apically, style glabrous or minutely pubescent basally. |
Legumes | ovoid to obovate, 6–8 × 4–4.5 mm, glandular, pubescent distally, beak 1.5–2 mm, shorter than calyx. |
broadly ellipsoid to globose, 8–10.5 × 8.5–10.5 mm, glandular, glabrous, beak 3–3.5 mm, exserted beyond calyx. |
Seed | reddish brown, reniform to globose, 3.5–4 × 4.5–5 mm. |
olive green to light brown, globose-reniform, 4–6 × 3–4 mm. |
Pediomelum cuspidatum |
Pediomelum linearifolium |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Grasslands, meadows, woodlands. | Grasslands, shrub and open woodland communities. |
Elevation | 50–1500 m. (200–4900 ft.) | 100–1500 m. (300–4900 ft.) |
Distribution |
CO; KS; MT; NE; OK; SD; TX
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AR; CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX
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Discussion | Pediomelum cuspidatum is one of the larger species in the genus, in spite of its procumbent habit with erect-ascending, copious lateral branches. Horizontal stems are often bicolored, purple adaxially and light green abaxially. It is variable, particularly in plant height, flower length, and inflorescence length. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Pediomelum linearifolium is easily distinguished from its congeners by the tall, gangly habit (more than 1 m) and lax inflorescences that nod (as opposed to tight heads in P. reverchonii, another species that achieves a tall habit), and by being glandular throughout (as opposed to P. digitatum, which has eglandular calyces). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Pediomelum | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Pediomelum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Psoralea cuspidata | Psoralea linearifolia, Psoralidium linearifolium |
Name authority | (Pursh) Rydberg in N. L. Britton et al.: N. Amer. Fl. 24: 19. (1919) | (Torrey & A. Gray) J. W. Grimes: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 61: 72. (1990) |
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