Flora of North America species comparison

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Sesbania sericea

papagayo, silky sesban
Habit Herbs, [trees or shrubs], to 6 m. Stems sometimes with prickles, sericeous, hairs persistent, golden tan; pith spongy.
Leaves

10.5–22.3 cm;

stipules 0.6 cm, golden tan-sericeous, with conspicuous inner fold 3/4 its length, base of fold unlike other Sesbania with additional shorter fold that parallels long one, inner fold without stipitate, multicellular glands, glands often present at base;

pulvinus more than 1/2 as long as petiole;

rachis sericeous, with stipitate glands in canal;

stipels long, narrow, ± glandular;

leaflets 34–96+, blades elliptic-ovate to broadly linear, base obtuse to acute, apex truncate to rounded obtuse, surfaces sericeous, hairs dense, golden tan abaxially, usually glabrous adaxially.
Inflorescences

1–18+-flowered, racemes.
Peduncles

(0.2–)0.5–0.6(–1.5) cm.
Flowers

(0.7–)0.8–0.9(–1.9) cm;

calyx actinomorphic, lobes 5, deltate-acuminate, rim of tube with net of long hairs, stalked glands present at base of sinus, absent in fruit;

corolla yellow-orange, banner sometimes with purple-maroon spots on outer surface;

banner ovate, base broadly tapered, apex emarginate, calluses as ridges along claw, callus apices truncate;

wings without basal tooth;

keel same color throughout, similar to wings, apex ± truncate, curved upward to inward towards calyx, with basal tooth;

stamens curved inward within keel;

style recurved towards banner;

ovules 18–32.
Legumes

reddish brown, with horizontal mottling, narrow-elongate, terete to elliptic in cross section, straight to falcate, (1.7–)10–12.7(–18.8) × (0.2–)0.3(–0.4) cm, beak connate, narrowly tapered, 0.2(–0.4) cm, tardily elastic dehiscent;

stipe (0.1–)0.2(–0.3) cm.
Seeds

(3–)19–24(–32), greenish gray to brownish red, without mottling, columnar.
2n

= 12, 24.

Sesbania sericea
Phenology Flowering early summer–fall.
Habitat Wet areas, riparian, wetlands, coastal, disturbed sites.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; TX; Asia (Sri Lanka) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Africa]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Sesbania sericea is sometimes mistaken for S. herbacea but is more limited in its distribution, found only in Florida and Texas, while S. herbacea is widespread in the flora area. Identification is straightforward when relying upon the dense tomentum of appressed hairs found on the underside of the leaves, as no other North American species of Sesbania shares this attribute.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Sesbania
Sibling taxa
S. drummondii, S. grandiflora, S. herbacea, S. punicea, S. vesicaria, S. virgata
Synonyms Coronilla sericea, Agati sericea, Emerus pubescens, S. laevigata, S. pubescens
Name authority (Willdenow) Link: Enum. Hort. Berol. Alt. 2: 244. (1822)
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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