Tephrosia
Tephrosia virginiana
hoary-pea
goat's-rue, Virginia tephrosia, wild goat's-rue
erect, procumbent, ascending, reclining, prostrate, decumbent, or sprawling, pubescent or glabrous.
erect, 30–70 cm, densely villous or sericeous to sparsely strigulose or glabrate.
alternate, odd-pinnate;
stipules present;
petiolate;
leaflets (3 or)5–27(–35), often opposite, sometimes subopposite, stipels absent, blade margins entire, with 8–25 parallel, straight, lateral veins extending to margins, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.
petiole 1–5(–10) mm;
leaflets (9–)13–23(–35), blades elliptic to oblong, 10–25(–30) × (3–)4–7 mm, length 2–5(–6) times width, apex obtuse or rounded to truncate, surfaces strigose to sericeous.
10–40-flowered, 2–8 cm, mostly above level of leaves;
floral bracts caducous, setaceous.
(1 or)2–45-flowered, terminal (bracteal leaves reduced) distal to level of leaves, or axillary, pseudoracemes (opposite unreduced leaves) in distal portions of leafy stems;
bracts present, persistent or caducous.
papilionaceous;
calyx campanulate, lobes 5, 2 lobes superior, ± connate, shorter;
corolla reddish to purple, pink, pink-purple, violet-red, yellow, cream, or white, 6–20 mm;
stamens 10, monadelphous or diadelphous, vexillary stamen free or apically adnate to staminal tube and basally distinct;
anthers dorsifixed;
style bearded or glabrous, stigma glabrous or penicillate.
corolla yellow and pink (banner yellow, wings pink, keel yellow-pink striped), 15–20 mm;
stamens monadelphous;
style bearded.
legumes, sessile or subsessile, flat, laterally compressed, straight or slightly curved or apically incurved, oblong, dehiscent by 2 sutures, pubescent.
30–55 × 4–5 mm, strigose to villous.
6–12, terete to suborbicular or reniform.
= 11.
= 22.
Tephrosia
Tephrosia virginiana
Species ca. 400 (17 in the flora).
Some species of Tephrosia produce rotenone, which is widely used as an insect and fish poison. The name barbasco is used for some of the fish-poison species in Mexico and Central America. Tephrosia purpurea (Linnaeus) Persoon was collected by C. F. Reed from chrome ore piles (originating from Rhodesia) in Baltimore, Maryland, [1958, 1959, 1969 (MO)] and in Newport News, Virginia [1959 (MO)]. Tephrosia purpurea and T. tenella are closely similar. Tephrosia cinerea (Linnaeus) Persoon was collected in Florida in 1842–1849 [Rugel 748 (MO)] and was reported in Mobile, Alabama, as a ballast waif as early as 1886, later becoming established (C. T. Mohr 1901). Neither T. cinerea nor T. purpurea has been reported as naturalized in the flora area.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Tephrosia virginiana is the only member of the genus that occurs in Canada, where it is known only from the vicinity of Turkey Point in southern Ontario.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaflet blades obovate to obtriangular or suborbiculate; stamens monadelphous; Texas. | → 2 |
2. Leaflets (5–)9–13(–17); flowers separate in racemes, 1 per node. | T. lindheimeri |
2. Leaflets (3 or)5 or 7(or 9); flowers clustered in racemes, 2–4 per node. | T. potosina |
1. Leaflet blades usually oblong to elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, often more elongate, rarely obovate; stamens monadelphous or diadelphous; widespread, including Texas. | → 3 |
3. Corollas 6–11 mm; styles glabrous; leaflet blade length 3–9 or 12–30 times width. | → 4 |
4. Leaflets (3 or)5–9(or 11), apices acute to obtuse or rounded; Arizona, New Mexico, Texas. | T. tenella |
4. Leaflets (9 or)11–15(–19), apices acute or rounded to truncate or retuse; Florida. | → 5 |
5. Stems hirsute; leaflet surfaces villous-hirsute, apices rounded to truncate. | T. corallicola |
5. Stems glabrous; leaflet surfaces glabrate or strigulose, apices acute, rounded to truncate, or retuse. | → 6 |
6. Leaflet blades linear to linear-lanceolate, 20–50 × 0.5–1.5 mm, length 12–30 times width, apices acute. | T. angustissima |
6. Leaflet blades oblong-elliptic to oblanceolate-oblong, (9–)12–25(–30) × 3–6 mm, length 3–6 times width, apices rounded to truncate or retuse. | T. curtissii |
3. Corollas (8–)10–20 mm; styles bearded; leaflet blade length 1.3–6(–6.5) times width. | → 7 |
7. Leaflets (9 or)11–27(–35). | → 8 |
8. Stamens weakly diadelphous; Arizona. | → 9 |
9. Legumes glabrous; inflorescences loose racemes, 4–8(–10)-flowered, 5–8(–15) cm; corollas white, darkening reddish; leaflet blades 5–7(–9) mm wide. | T. leiocarpa |
9. Legumes villosulous; inflorescences congested racemes, 8–14-flowered, 2–4 cm; corollas pink and pink-purple or yellowish aging pink-purple; leaflet blades (5–)7–13 mm wide. | T. thurberi |
8. Stamens monadelphous; United States from Texas to Minnesota and eastward, Ontario. | → 10 |
10. Racemes (10–)20–40 cm, (12–)20–45-flowered. | T. onobrychoides |
10. Racemes 2–8 cm, 10–40-flowered, or flowers axillary, 4–12. | → 11 |
11. Racemes 2–8 cm, 10–40-flowered. | T. virginiana |
11. Racemes: flowers mostly axillary, 4–12. | T. mohrii |
7. Leaflets (3 or)5–17(or 19). | → 12 |
12. Racemes not evident (flowers axillary in distal portions of leafy stems, nodes initially congested but elongating); floral bracts foliaceous, enlarging with floral and fruit development. | T. rugelii |
12. Racemes evident (flowers well above level of leaves) floral bracts lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or linear-subulate, not foliaceous. | → 13 |
13. Leaflet blades bicolored (darker abaxially), surfaces usually finely and evenly sparsely strigulose abaxially, hairs relatively short, not overlapping, abaxial venation distinctly reddish. | → 14 |
14. Leaflet blades 17–35 × (1.5–)3–9(–11) mm, narrowly oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate or obovate-elliptic, length (2.5–)3–6 times width, apices obtuse to rounded or truncate and slightly retuse; petioles (10–)20–40 mm; legumes sparsely strigulose. | T. florida |
14. Leaflet blades 9–20(–25) × 2–6 mm, narrowly elliptic to oblong-elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, length 2.5–5 times width, apices acute; petioles 2–8(–15) mm; legumes hirsute-villous. | T. hispidula |
13. Leaflet blades concolorous, surfaces moderately to densely strigose to strigose-sericeous or -hirsute abaxially, hairs relatively long and overlapping, abaxial venation greenish. | → 15 |
15. Stems erect to ascending or decumbent-ascending; leaflets (7 or)9–13(–17), blade length 1.5–3.5(–5) times width; petioles (2–)5–15 mm; inflorescences (3–)5–15. | T. spicata |
15. Stems prostrate; leaflets (3 or)5 or 7, or (5 or)7–11(or 13), blade length 1.3–2.2 times width; petioles 0 or 1–5 mm; inflorescences 2–6-flowered. | → 16 |
16. Leaflets (3 or)5 or 7(or 9), surfaces glabrous adaxially, shiny, bright green. | T. chrysophylla |
16. Leaflets (5 or)7–11(or 13), surfaces usually minutely hirtellous or glabrate adaxially, dull, light olive green to brownish. | T. mysteriosa |
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