Tephrosia florida
Tephrosia tenella
Florida hoary-pea or goat's-rue, Florida hoarypea
slender hoary-pea
prostrate to procumbent, 10–80 cm, glabrous or strigulose.
erect to decumbent or ascending, (8–)10–50(–100) cm, sparsely strigulose to glabrescent.
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.
petiole 10–30 mm;
leaflets (3 or)5–9(or 11), blades linear to linear-oblong, narrowly oblong, or oblong-elliptic, 15–40 × 2–6 mm, length 5–9 times width, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, abaxial surface sparsely strigulose, adaxial glabrous.
axillary and terminal, 2–6-flowered, evident (flowers well above level of leaves), 5–15(–25) cm;
floral bracts persistent, linear-subulate.
terminal and axillary, (1–)8–17-flowered, 10–30 cm;
floral bracts subpersistent, setaceous-subulate.
corolla yellowish white to white, aging dark purple, 10–14 mm;
stamens diadelphous;
style bearded.
corolla pink to rose-pink or rose-purple, aging darker reddish to purple, 6–9 mm;
stamens diadelphous;
style glabrous.
25–40 × 4–5 mm, sparsely strigulose.
30–50 × 3–4 mm, sparsely strigulose.
Tephrosia florida
Tephrosia tenella
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.)
D. Isely (1998) noted that Tephrosia tenella seems a peripheral manifestation of the widespread T. purpurea complex. F. Shreve and I. L. Wiggins (1964) identified the species in the Sonoran Desert as T. purpurea (the type of which is from Africa) and observed that plants in the northern part of its range (called T. tenella) seem to have narrower, more acute leaflets but intergrade completely with ones at more southern localities.
Tephrosia vicioides Schlechtendal has been suggested to be the correct name for these plants (R. McVaugh 1987).
In Tephrosia tenella as identified here, most commonly the taproot becomes thick and distinctly perennial, and the plants often develop a woody, caudex-like region as well. Some plants arise from a slender taproot, with stems 8–30 cm and (1 or)2–5 flowers per raceme. Glabrous-styled taxa were not included in the study of Tephrosia by C. E. Wood Jr. (1949).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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