Tephrosia florida
Tephrosia
Florida hoary-pea or goat's-rue, Florida hoarypea
hoary-pea
prostrate to procumbent, 10–80 cm, glabrous or strigulose.
erect, procumbent, ascending, reclining, prostrate, decumbent, or sprawling, pubescent or glabrous.
petiole usually (10–)20–40 mm;
leaflets (5 or)7–13(or 15), blades bicolored (darker abaxially), narrowly oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate or obovate-elliptic, 17–35 × (1.5–)3–9(–11) mm, length (2.5–)3–6 times width, apex obtuse to rounded or truncate and slightly retuse, abaxial surface usually finely and evenly sparsely strigose, rarely hirsute to hirsute-strigose, hairs relatively short, not overlapping, venation distinctly reddish, adaxial 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.
axillary and terminal, 2–6-flowered, evident (flowers well above level of leaves), 5–15(–25) cm;
floral bracts persistent, linear-subulate.
(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.
corolla yellowish white to white, aging dark purple, 10–14 mm;
stamens diadelphous;
style bearded.
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.
legumes, sessile or subsessile, flat, laterally compressed, straight or slightly curved or apically incurved, oblong, dehiscent by 2 sutures, pubescent.
25–40 × 4–5 mm, sparsely strigulose.
6–12, terete to suborbicular or reniform.
= 11.
Tephrosia florida
Tephrosia
Tephrosia florida is recognized by its relatively small, elongate, bicolored leaves with abaxial surfaces strigulose and with reddish venation (including secondary and tertiary veins).
Tephrosia × intermedia (Small) G. L. Nesom & Zarucchi is a putative hybrid between T. chrysophylla and T. florida (C. E. Wood Jr. 1949; D. Isely 1998; G. L. Nesom and J. L. Zarucchi 2009). Synonyms are Cracca intermedia Small, C. floridana Vail, C. smallii Vail, and T. × floridana (Vail) Isely. The hybrid is said to occur in association with the two putative parents, sporadically from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi, and its origin as a recurrent hybrid seems a reasonable hypothesis. According to Isely, it most closely resembles T. florida, differing in its shorter petioles and broader, fewer leaflets; both parents are variable in these features, and it is difficult to confirm that the putative hybrids are consistently intermediate in morphology. Perhaps the only sure way to identify the hybrid is to see it in the field, in company with the parents and in contrast to them.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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.)
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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