Flora of North America species comparison

erect, usually pubescent, rarely glabrate or glabrous, glandular nearly throughout, gland-dotted when young.

3–10 dm, gland-dotted distally when young, glands prickle-shaped, hairy to glabrate.

irregular, stiff;

sterile shoots often sharp-tipped.

alternate, odd-pinnate or unifoliolate;

stipules present, caducous, usually triangular to subulate or linear, rarely obovate;

petiolate;

leaflets 1–17(or 19), stipels absent, blade margins entire or gland-crenulate, surfaces usually glandular-punctate abaxially, pubescent.

usually pinnate, sometimes unifoliolate distally, (0.3–)1–3.5(–5.5) cm;

leaflets (1 or 3)5–11, blades ovate, obovate, lanceolate, linear, elliptic, rhombic-elliptic, rhombic-ovate, or linear-oblanceolate, 2–14(–17) mm, terminal leaflet seldom longer than laterals, surfaces gland-dotted abaxially, silky-strigulose, villous-tomentulose to glabrate, loosely hairy, or glabrous.

loose;

rachis without thornlike tip in anthesis, (1–)1.5–12 cm;

bracts subulate to linear, 2.5–4 mm;

bracteoles present.

1–20+-flowered, terminal and axillary (sometimes leaf-opposed), usually racemes, rarely spikes;

bracts present, caducous;

bracteoles 0 or 2, at apex of pedicel or base of calyx.

papilionaceous;

calyx campanulate, lobes 5, unequal;

ribs 10, not anastomosing into closed arches distally;

corolla usually blue, blue-purple, pink-purple, magenta-purple, violet-purple, violet, or bicolored, sometimes with yellow eye, rarely white;

banner blade differentiated from claw, reflexed less than 90°, claw shorter;

wings not adnate to keel, blades oblique basally, claws shorter, linear;

keel not strongly twisted, blades narrowly overlapping and adherent, oblique basally, blunt-tipped, claws linear;

stamens 10, monadelphous, equal or alternately short and long;

anthers dorsifixed;

style glabrous or pilosulous.

calyx 5–9 mm, pilosulous to minutely puberulent, strigulose, silky-canescent, or glabrate, tube 3–4.5 mm, ribs prominent, broader adaxial intervals with 2 rows, narrower one with 1 row of 3–5 glands, lobes broadly lanceolate, triangular, or lanceolate, abaxial lobe often shorter;

corolla indigo-blue to violet;

banner flabellate to flabellate-ovate, 6.3–10 mm, base cuneate to auriculate, claw cuneate;

wings oblong to oblong-ovate, 5.4–8.2 × 2.2–3.5 mm;

keel obliquely obovate, 5.8–8.4 × 3.3–4.9 mm;

stamens (5.5–)6.5–9.8 mm;

filaments distinct to (3–)3.5–5.6 mm;

anthers (0.8–)0.9–1.3 mm, connective not gland-tipped.

legumes, sessile, mostly tan, plump to compressed, obovoid, ovoid-ellipsoid, obovoid-ellipsoid, or obliquely obovoid or ellipsoid, indehiscent, often membranous proximally, thickened distally, gland-dotted, glabrous or pubescent.

ovoid-ellipsoid or obliquely ellipsoid, 8–10 mm, with scattered blister-glands, glands not confluent, glabrous or sparsely villosulous.

usually 1, rarely 2, chestnut to brownish or greenish, sometimes with brown or purple spots, somewhat compressed, oblong.

(4.7–)5–6 mm.

= 10.