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scurfpea, subterranean Indian breadroot

Habit Herbs usually acaulescent, rarely subacaulescent, to 25 cm, pubescent throughout and eglandular or sparsely glandular with pale, sunken obscure glands on leaflets and/or calyx tubes only.
Stems

short-erect, with decumbent laterals, decumbent stems 0–6 cm, overtopped by leaves, leaves clustered;

pseudoscapes usually 1, unbranched, rarely 2, 0.5–9.5 cm;

cataphylls 5–20 mm.

Leaves

palmately (3–)5-foliolate;

stipules persistent, linear-lanceolate to elliptic, 4–19 × 2–6 mm, appressed-pubescent;

petiole not obviously jointed basally, (20–)30–210 mm;

petiolules 1–3 mm;

leaflet blades elliptic to lanceolate, oblanceolate, or rhombic, 1–7.5 × 0.3–4 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrate to sparsely pubescent.

Inflorescences

disjointing in age at peduncle base, ovate to oblong;

rachis 0.5–6 cm, elongating slightly in fruit, nodes 3–15, 3 flowers per node, internodes crowded in flower, elongating to 25 mm in fruit;

bracts mostly persistent or very tardily deciduous, linear to oblanceolate or rhombic, 3–11 × 1.5–4.5 mm, appressed-pubescent.

Peduncles

1–14 cm, shorter than subtending petiole, subappressed-pubescent.

Pedicels

1–5 mm.

Flowers

11–18 mm;

calyx weakly gibbous-campanulate in fruit, 9–15 mm abaxially, 6–14 mm adaxially, usually eglandular, very rarely glandular on tube, pubescent;

tube 2.5–6 mm;

lobes subulate or linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, abaxial 6–10 × 1.5–3(–4) mm, adaxial 4.5–9 × 1–1.5 mm;

corolla lavender to purple, banner paler, sometimes also marginally white, elliptic to obovate, 11–18 × 4–7 mm with claw 2–5 mm, wings 11–16 × 2–3 mm with claw 3.5–6 mm, keel 6–12 × 2–3 mm with claw 2.5–7 mm;

filaments 6–11 mm;

anthers round to elliptic, 0.3–0.5 mm;

ovary glabrous or pubescent apically, style pubescent basally.

Legumes

ellipsoid-lanceoloid to oblong, 5–6.5 × 3–5 mm, eglandular, glabrous or slightly pubescent, beak 7–19 mm, exserted beyond calyx.

Seed

red-brown or gray, globose-reniform, 4–5 × 2.5–3.5 mm, smooth to somewhat rugose.

2n

= 22.

Pediomelum hypogaeum

Distribution
from USDA
w United States; c United States
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Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

J. W. Grimes (1990) recognized three varieties under Pediomelum hypogaeum. Many specimens exist with intermediate traits that obscure strong delineations between taxa.

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

Key
1. Peduncles 1–3.5 cm, less than 1/2 as long as sub­tending petiole.
var. hypogaeum
1. Peduncles (1.7–)4–14 cm, more than 1/2 as long as subtending petiole.
→ 2
2. Peduncles appressed-pubescent; leaflet blades lanceolate to elliptic.
var. scaposum
2. Peduncles hirsute-villous; leaflet blades oblan­ceolate to rhombic.
var. subulatum
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Pediomelum
Sibling taxa
P. argophyllum, P. aromaticum, P. californicum, P. canescens, P. castoreum, P. cuspidatum, P. cyphocalyx, P. digitatum, P. epipsilum, P. esculentum, P. humile, P. latestipulatum, P. linearifolium, P. megalanthum, P. mephiticum, P. palmeri, P. pariense, P. pentaphyllum, P. piedmontanum, P. reverchonii, P. rhombifolium, P. subacaule, P. tenuiflorum, P. verdiense
Subordinate taxa
P. hypogaeum var. hypogaeum, P. hypogaeum var. scaposum, P. hypogaeum var. subulatum
Synonyms Psoralea hypogaea
Name authority (Nuttall) Rydberg in N. L. Britton et al.: N. Amer. Fl. 24: 21. (1919)
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