Sesbania drummondii |
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poisonbean, rattlebush |
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Habit | Shrubs or subshrubs, to 3 m. Stems glabrous in age; pith spongy. |
Leaves | 12–19 cm; stipules 0.2–0.4 cm, with inconspicuous inner fold throughout, inner fold and base with stipitate, multicellular glands or glabrous; pulvinus less than 1/2 as long as petiole; rachis ± glabrous, without stipitate glands in canal; stipels narrow obscure glands; leaflets 16–50+, blades elliptic-ovate to oblong, base acute, apex obtuse, surfaces glaucous, usually glabrous abaxially, sometimes with diffuse, close-pressed hairs. |
Inflorescences | 1–12-flowered, racemes. |
Peduncles | (0.9–)1.7–1.8(–3) cm. |
Flowers | (0.9–)1.3–1.5(–1.7) cm; calyx ± zygo-morphic, deciduous before fruits mature, lobes 5, short-deltate, rim of tube with spreading hairs, stalked glands usually present between abaxial lobes; corolla pale yellow; banner ovate, base truncate-obcordate, apex emarginate, calluses as relatively small ridges at claw base, forming a pocket, thickened, knoblike at top of claw; wings without basal tooth; keel ± same color throughout, apex rounded-obtuse, curved upward to slightly outward in apical tooth, without basal tooth; stamens curved upward; style curved upward with stamens; ovules 4–9. |
Legumes | light tan to reddish brown, 4-angled, with pronounced torulose wings, square in cross section, straight, (3.2–)5.7–6.2(–9.3) × 0.8(–0.9) mm, seed chambers clearly visible externally, beak short- to long-pyramidal, (0.4–)0.7–0.8(–1.3) cm, indehiscent or tardily dehiscent; stipe (1.1–)1.6(–2) cm. |
Seeds | (1–)3 or 4(–9), dark reddish brown, without mottling, reniform-orbicular. |
2n | = 12. |
Sesbania drummondii |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. |
Habitat | Wet areas, riparian on sandy soils, coastal sites, disturbed sites. |
Elevation | 0–600 m. (0–2000 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX; Mexico (Tamaulipas)
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Discussion | Sesbania drummondii is often mistaken for the Mexican species S. cavanillesii S. Watson (= Sesbania longifolia de Candolle). It is distinguished by rounded versus acute leaf apices and winged versus not winged legumes. In bloom, the yellow-orange corollas make S. drummondii clearly distinct from S. punicea; in fruit, identification is simplified by the acuminate versus pyramidal beak and wavy versus straight-edged wings. Daubentonia texana Pierce is a superfluous name that pertains here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Daubentonia drummondii |
Name authority | (Rydberg) Cory: Rhodora 38: 406. (1936) |
Web links |