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spike hoary-pea

Habit Herbs.
Stems

erect to ascending or decumbent-ascending, 30–60 cm, strigose to hirsute or glabrate.

Leaves

petiole (2–)5–15 mm;

leaflets (7 or)9–13(–17), blades concolorous, oblanceolate to obovate, elliptic-obovate, or oblong-obovate, 8–28(–40) × 6–16 mm, length 1.5–3.5(–5) times width, apex rounded to truncate, abaxial surface moderately to densely strigose to strigose-hirsute, hairs relatively long and overlapping, venation greenish, adaxial glabrous or strigose-hirsute, venation raised.

Racemes

(3–)5–15(–20)-flowered, evident (flowers well above level of leaves), 10–20(–40) cm;

floral bracts persistent, lanceolate.

Flowers

corolla yellowish white, becoming pink to red, drying purple, 13–18 mm;

stamens diadelphous;

style bearded.

Legumes

20–40 × 3.5–4.5 mm, hirsute-villous, glabrescent.

2n

= 22.

Tephrosia spicata

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Dry or wet, open pine or mixed woods, pine-palmetto scrub, pineland bogs, pine savan­nas, clearings, field margins, roadsides.
Elevation 10–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; DE; FL; GA; KY; LA; MD; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA
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Discussion

Tephrosia spicata is recognized by its numerous leaflets with raised adaxial venation and long, ebracteate peduncles with long racemes.

Cracca flexuosa (Vail) A. Heller is a later homonym that pertains here.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Tephrosia
Sibling taxa
T. angustissima, T. chrysophylla, T. corallicola, T. curtissii, T. florida, T. hispidula, T. leiocarpa, T. lindheimeri, T. mohrii, T. mysteriosa, T. onobrychoides, T. potosina, T. rugelii, T. tenella, T. thurberi, T. virginiana
Synonyms Galega spicata, Cracca spicata, T. spicata var. semitonsa
Name authority (Walter) Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 296. (1838)
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