Pediomelum subacaule |
Pediomelum mephiticum |
|
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Nashville breadroot, white-rim scurfpea |
skunktop |
|
Habit | Herbs acaulescent or subacaulescent, to 20 cm, eglandular except leaves or rarely stipules and bracts, pubescent. | Herbs acaulescent or subacaulescent, 4–16 cm, mostly glandular (with obvious blond to dark brown glands) and pubescent throughout. |
Stems | absent, leaves clustered; pseudoscapes erect, 3–10 cm, usually 1, sometimes to 6, rarely branched proximally; cataphylls 10–20 mm (when present). |
erect, unbranched, retrorsely hairy, leaves clustered; pseudoscapes mainly subterranean, to 4 cm; cataphylls 0–5 mm, glabrous or pubescent. |
Leaves | palmately 5–7-foliolate; stipules often fragmented on plant, partly connate, ovate, 11–24 × 11–16 mm, scarious, usually eglandular, sparsely pubescent; petiole jointed basally, 40–150(–190) mm, shorter than peduncle, hirsute-villous; petiolules 1–2.5 mm; leaflet blades oblanceolate to elliptic, 1.5–4.5(–6) × 0.5–1.3(–1.8) cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate to obtuse, surfaces glandular, abaxially pubescent, adaxially sparsely so, usually along margins. |
palmately 5(or 6)-foliolate; stipules usually persistent, sometimes tardily deciduous, lanceolate to elliptic, (4–)7–11 × 2.5–8 mm, glabrate to pubescent; petiole jointed basally, (30–)50–120 mm, retrorse-hairy; petiolules 2–3 mm; leaflet blades abaxially gray-green, adaxially green to yellow-green, cuneate-obovate to orbiculate, (1.5–)2–4 × (0.8–)1.5–3.5 cm, base cuneate, apex broadly acute to rounded or retuse, surfaces glandular and pubescent. |
Inflorescences | disjointing in age at peduncle base, long-ovoid; rachis 2.5–9.5 cm, elongating through fruiting, nodes 4–11(–15), 3 flowers per node, internodes 1–5 mm, elongating to 25 mm in fruit; bracts persistent, orbiculate to lanceolate, 7–14 × 2–7 mm, margins pubescent, apex sometimes caudate or emarginate, becoming papery and veined in age. |
disjointing in age at peduncle base, globose to elongate, 1.5–5(–8) cm; rachis 1.5–2.5 cm, nodes 4–6(–10), (2 or)3 flowers per node, internodes to 8 mm; bracts tardily deciduous or persistent, ovate to elliptic, 5–12 × 3–7 mm, long-pubescent. |
Peduncles | 4–14 cm (8–19 cm in fruit), longer than subtending petiole, setose. |
(2–)4–8(–10) cm, equal to or shorter than subtending petiole, pilose, hairs spreading or spreading-retrorse. |
Pedicels | 1–2 mm. |
2–4(–6) mm. |
Flowers | 10–15(–22) mm; calyx weakly gibbous-campanulate in fruit, 6–10 mm abaxially, 5–8 mm adaxially, glabrate and eglandular on gibbous portion, sparsely setose and glandular distally; tube stramineous, 4.5–6 mm; lobes triangular, abaxial 2–4 × 2 mm, adaxial 1–2 × 1 mm; corolla dark blue to purple, banner oblanceolate to oval, 13–23 × 4–5 mm with claw 5–6 mm, wings 12–18 × 2–3 mm with claw 5–7 mm, keel 10–15 × 2–3 mm with claw 2–3 mm; filaments 10–12 mm; anthers obovate, 0.3 mm; ovary pubescent apically, style pubescent basally. |
10–13 mm; calyx gibbous-campanulate in fruit, 10–12.5 mm abaxially, 10–12 mm adaxially, glandular, pubescent; tube 2.5–4 mm; lobes linear or linear-lanceolate to elliptic, abaxial 7–9 × 2–3 mm, adaxial 4–8 × 1–1.5 mm; corolla mostly purple, banner white to ochroleucous, elliptic to oblanceolate, 9–12 × 6 mm with claw 2–4 mm, wings 10–12 × 2–2.5 mm with claw 4–4.5 mm, keel 8–9 × 2–3 mm with claw 3.5–4.5 mm; filaments 7–8.5 mm; anthers elliptic, 0.3 mm; ovary glabrous or pubescent apically, style glabrous or pubescent proximally. |
Legumes | globose to ovoid, 6–7 × 4–5 mm, eglandular, sparsely pubescent apically, beak triangular, 4–6 mm, exserted beyond calyx. |
globose to ovoid, 5–7 × 3.5–5 mm, eglandular, pubescent on adaxial 1/2, beak 1–4 mm, not exserted beyond calyx. |
Seed | gray-brown to red-brown, obovoid-reniform, 5–6 × 3–4 mm. |
red-brown to dark brown or gray-green and black-mottled, ellipsoid to reniform, 4–5 × 3 mm. |
2n | = 22. |
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Pediomelum subacaule |
Pediomelum mephiticum |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Calcareous soils, cedar glades. | Rocky or sandy soils, pine, juniper, or oak woodlands. |
Elevation | 200–1500 m. (700–4900 ft.) | 700–2000 m. (2300–6600 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; GA; TN
|
AZ; NV; UT
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Discussion | Pediomelum subacaule is known from Colbert and Franklin counties in Alabama, Catoosa County in Georgia, and Davidson, Maury, Rutherford, and Wilson counties in Tennessee. Pediomelum subacaule is quite distinct and disjunct from its fellow members of subg. Disarticulatum, this evidenced by its large, partly connate stipules and short, broad calyx lobes, and by being the only species in the subgenus east of the Mississippi River. Pediomelum subacaule is restricted to limestone soil in open cedar glades. Although P. subacaule is well established in the protected cedar glades of Tennessee, its historical range is shrinking due to habitat loss. Several historical sites that were, or still are, active limestone quarries have no remaining evidence of P. subacaule, particularly in Alabama and Georgia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The type locality of Pediomelum mephiticum is stated as Beaver City, Utah, which is largely agreed to be erroneous. The type locality is more likely Beaver Dam, Arizona (J. W. Grimes 1990). Pediomelum mephiticum is known from Mohave County in Arizona, Clark and Lincoln counties in Nevada, and Washington County in Utah. (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 subacaulis, Lotodes subacaulis | Psoralea mephitica |
Name authority | (Torrey & A. Gray) Rydberg in N. L. Britton et al.: N. Amer. Fl. 24: 20. (1919) | (S. Watson) Rydberg in N. L. Britton et al.: N. Amer. Fl. 24: 22. (1919) |
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