Flora of North America species comparison

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Peteria scoparia

rush peteria
Habit Herbs to 0.8 m. Leaves 4–5 cm; stipules subulate, 3–5 × 1 mm; leaflets 11–13, blades linear to narrowly elliptic, 3–6(–9) × 1–2(–9) mm, apex acute, surfaces glabrate to strigose; terminal pinna often reduced to spinose seta.
Racemes

loose, rarely with more than 1 flower reaching anthesis simultaneously, nodes 8–20, internodes (3–)5–35 mm;

bracts 3–5 × 0.5–1 mm.
Pedicels

3–8 mm.
Flowers

calyx tube 5.5–7 mm, glabrate to strigose, lobes 2–4 mm;

banner 14–16 mm.
Fruits

35–50(–62) × 5–6 mm.
2n

= 18.

Peteria scoparia
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Open, dry shrubby vegetation, shrub-grasslands.
Elevation 1000–2000 m. (3300–6600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Peteria scoparia occurs in the Chihuahuan Desert, eastern Colorado Plateau, and intervening desert areas.

Peteria scoparia occasionally has even-pinnate leaves by the reduction of the terminal leaflet to a spine. Evenly pinnate leaves are also found in related legume genera including Olneya and Sesbania and in certain species of Coursetia and Poitea Ventenat; no spines are present in these genera. Peteria scoparia does not necessarily have early-deciduous leaflets. Specimens from southwestern Colorado and the northernmost populations in Arizona and New Mexico display more luxuriant foliage that approaches P. thompsoniae. Although these northernmost specimens of P. scoparia are vegetatively very similar to P. thompsoniae, they have inflorescences with widely spaced flowers, banners to 16 mm, and leaflets to 4 mm wide (M. Lavin and M. Sousa S. 1995).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Peteria
Sibling taxa
P. thompsoniae
Name authority A. Gray: Smithsonian Contr. Knowl. 3(5): 50. (1852)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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