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false mesquite, James' holdback, James' rushpea

Texas holdback

Habit Herbs, to 50 cm; from thick, spindle-shaped taproot. Subshrubs, decumbent at base, 15–60 cm; from thick, woody root-crown.
Leaves

42–75 × 25–60 mm;

stipules linear to lanceolate, 4 × 5 mm, margins ± entire, pubescent, with few glandular-punctate trichomes;

pinnae 5–7;

leaflets 8–20 per pinna, blades oblong, 2.5–7 × 1–2.5 mm, apex rounded, surfaces densely strigose or covered with curly trichomes mixed with glandular-punctate trichomes, especially marginally and abaxially, few scattered trichomes to moderately strigose adaxially.

55–70 × 15–30 mm;

stipules filiform, 3 × 3 mm, margins ± entire to pinnatifid, densely tomentose;

pinnae 5–7;

leaflets 6–10 per pinna, blades oblong, 3–6 × 1–2.5 mm, apex rounded, surfaces densely, evenly pilose, with numerous glandular-punctate trichomes abaxially, moderately to densely tomentose adaxially.

Racemes

16–26-flowered, axillary and terminal, 12–15 cm.

7–15-flowered, terminal, 7–12 cm.

Flowers

usually nutant at anthesis, turbinate in outline, 6–10 × 9–10 mm;

abaxial sepal 7–9 × 4 mm;

lateral sepals 6–9 × 9–10 mm;

sepals villous abaxially, or with scattered, short, curled, and glandular-punctate trichomes;

banner bright yellow with red markings, 5–9 × 2–2.5 mm, villous in fold of claw, also with glandular-punctate trichomes abaxially on claw and on basal portion of blade;

lateral petals yellow, sometimes red basally, 6–8 × 3–3.5 mm, sometimes with few glandular-punctate trichomes abaxially at base, slightly villous on inner claw.

upright, almost bilabiate in outline, 12–20 × 6–10 mm;

abaxial sepal 9 × 3 mm;

lateral sepals 8 × 4 mm;

abaxial sepal pilose and with short, curled trichomes on midveins and margins and mixed with evenly-sized black, glandular-punctate trichomes;

banner yellow with dark red blotches, 8 × 3 mm, with small tuft of trichomes in fold of claw and very few glandular trichomes abaxially;

lateral petals yellow, 8 × 4 mm, mostly glabrous.

Legumes

decumbent, lunate in outline, 20–25 × 8–10 mm, glabrous or pilose, with scattered glandular-punctate trichomes and scattered multicellular projections to 0.4 mm, each with numerous apical trichomes, appearing stellate, primarily apically and on tip, margins densely covered with complex multicellular projections to 0.4 mm.

upright, oblong-lanceolate in outline, 20–35 × 10 mm, pilose and with few glandular-punctate trichomes and with scattered multicellular projections less than 0.5 mm, with white trichomes radiating apically, margins pubescent with short curled trichomes and with few multicellular projections to 0.5 mm.

Seeds

2.

2.

Mature

stems yellow, striate, puberulent.

stems reddish, ± rugose to striate, densely appressed-pubescent.

Pomaria jamesii

Pomaria austrotexana

Phenology Flowering summer–early fall. Flowering spring.
Habitat Grasslands, sandy or clay soils. Deep sands.
Elevation 600–2300 m. (2000–7500 ft.) 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; MO; NM; OK; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Tamaulipas)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Pomaria austrotexana appears to be uncommon in southern Texas and adjacent Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (excluding Mimosoid clade) > Pomaria Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (excluding Mimosoid clade) > Pomaria
Sibling taxa
P. austrotexana, P. brachycarpa, P. melanosticta, P. wootonii
P. brachycarpa, P. jamesii, P. melanosticta, P. wootonii
Synonyms Hoffmannseggia jamesii, Caesalpinia jamesii, H. jamesii var. popinoensis, Larrea jamesii
Name authority (Torrey & A. Gray) Walpers: Repert. Bot. Syst. 1: 811. (1843) B. B. Simpson: Lundellia 1: 51, fig. 1. (1998)
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