Pediomelum hypogaeum |
Pediomelum pariense |
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scurfpea, subterranean Indian breadroot |
Paria Plateau Indian breadroot, Paria River Indian breadroot |
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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. | Herbs acaulescent or subacaulescent, 2–9 cm, mostly glandular and strigose throughout. | ||||||||
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. |
short-erect, rarely branched (when branched then branches subtended by cataphylls), leaves clustered; pseudoscapes to 2.5 cm; cataphylls 6–11 mm, glabrous. |
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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. |
palmately 3(–5)-foliolate; stipules persistent, obovate to oval, 4–10 × 2.5–6 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; petiole not enlarged but jointed basally, slightly canaliculate, 13–70 mm; petiolules 0.5–1 mm; leaflet blades obovate, 0.9–2.5 × 0.7–2.2 cm, base cuneate or attenuate, apex rounded or emarginate, surfaces abaxially gray-green and evenly strigose, adaxially yellow-green and strongly white-strigose along veins. |
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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. |
disjointing in age at peduncle base, globose; rachis 0.5–8.5 cm, elongating through fruiting, nodes (1 or)2–6, 3 flowers per node, internodes 1–3 mm; bracts tardily deciduous or persistent, oblanceolate to elliptic, 4–8 × 3–4 mm, apex abruptly acuminate, short-pubescent. |
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Peduncles | 1–14 cm, shorter than subtending petiole, subappressed-pubescent. |
2–4.5 cm, shorter than subtending petiole, pubescent. |
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Pedicels | 1–5 mm. |
2–5 mm. |
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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. |
8–12.5 mm; calyx broadly gibbous-campanulate in fruit, 10–11.5 mm abaxially, 8–8.5 mm adaxially, eglandular or sparsely glandular, pubescent; tube 3.3–4.5 mm; lobes lanceolate or oblanceolate, abaxial 4–6.5 × 2–3.5 mm, adaxial 3–5 × 1–1.5 mm; corolla ochroleucous, wings and keel suffused purple or purple, banner broadly orbiculate to obovate, (8.5–)10–14 × 5.5–7.5 mm with claw 2.5–3 mm, wings 9–11 × 2.5–3 mm with claw 3.5–4 mm, keel 8–8.5 × 2.5–3 mm with claw 3–4 mm; filaments 7–8 mm; anthers broadly elliptic, 0.4 mm; ovary pubescent apically, style pubescent basally. |
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Legumes | ellipsoid-lanceoloid to oblong, 5–6.5 × 3–5 mm, eglandular, glabrous or slightly pubescent, beak 7–19 mm, exserted beyond calyx. |
ellipsoid, 6–7 × 4–4.5 mm, eglandular, strigose, beak 3–4 mm, not exserted beyond calyx. |
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Seed | red-brown or gray, globose-reniform, 4–5 × 2.5–3.5 mm, smooth to somewhat rugose. |
gray-green to brown, obovoid, 4.5–5 × 2.5–3 mm, shiny. |
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2n | = 22. |
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Pediomelum hypogaeum |
Pediomelum pariense |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | |||||||||
Habitat | Barren outcrops in open pine-juniper woodlands. | |||||||||
Elevation | 1700–2500 m. (5600–8200 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
w United States; c United States
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UT |
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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.) |
Pediomelum pariense is known from Garfield, Kane, and Washington counties. It much prefers open, barren rocky soils, particularly limestone and is considered rare, with fewer than 20 populations known. A few known populations inhabiting the high-elevation escarpment ridges of Bryce Canyon National Park are assured protection, but the bulk of populations exist on the lower steps of the Grand Staircase-Escalante area, areas that may become targets for mining and oil developments. In 2005 and 2006, considerable effort was spent to seek out new populations but without success. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Pediomelum | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Pediomelum | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Psoralea hypogaea | Psoralea pariensis | ||||||||
Name authority | (Nuttall) Rydberg in N. L. Britton et al.: N. Amer. Fl. 24: 21. (1919) | (S. L. Welsh & N. D. Atwood) J. W. Grimes: Brittonia 38: 185. (1986) | ||||||||
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