Tephrosia spicata |
Tephrosia mysteriosa |
|
---|---|---|
spike hoary-pea |
Lake Wales hoary-pea |
|
Habit | Herbs. | Herbs. |
Stems | erect to ascending or decumbent-ascending, 30–60 cm, strigose to hirsute or glabrate. |
prostrate, 20–60 cm, densely hirsute, hairs tawny. |
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. |
petiole 1–2(–3) mm; leaflets (5 or)7–11(or 13), blades concolorous, elliptic to oblong- or obovate-elliptic, (8–)14–18(–25) × (6–)8–12(–16) mm, length 1.6–2.2 times width, apex truncate to slightly retuse, abaxial surface moderately to densely strigose-sericeous, hairs relatively long and overlapping, venation greenish, adaxial dull, light olive green to brownish, usually hirtellous, becoming glabrate or glabrescent. |
Racemes | (3–)5–15(–20)-flowered, evident (flowers well above level of leaves), 10–20(–40) cm; floral bracts persistent, lanceolate. |
axillary, 2–6-flowered, evident (flowers well above level of leaves), (5–)10–16(–20) cm; floral bracts persistent, linear-lanceolate. |
Flowers | corolla yellowish white, becoming pink to red, drying purple, 13–18 mm; stamens diadelphous; style bearded. |
corolla white to pinkish, aging red to deep maroon, 8–12 mm; stamens diadelphous; style bearded. |
Legumes | 20–40 × 3.5–4.5 mm, hirsute-villous, glabrescent. |
40–55 × 4–5 mm, minutely and closely strigulose. |
2n | = 22. |
|
Tephrosia spicata |
Tephrosia mysteriosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering Mar–Oct(–Nov). |
Habitat | Dry or wet, open pine or mixed woods, pine-palmetto scrub, pineland bogs, pine savannas, clearings, field margins, roadsides. | Sandhills, sand ridges, within and along edges of turkey oak and hickory scrub woodlands, less commonly in high pineland and pine flatwoods. |
Elevation | 10–200 m. (0–700 ft.) | 50–100 m. (200–300 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; DE; FL; GA; KY; LA; MD; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA
|
FL |
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.) |
Tephrosia mysteriosa is known from two major ridge systems, the Lake Wales Ridge and the Mount Dora Ridge, in the northern half of peninsular Florida. The species had previously been identified as T. chrysophylla; variant populations of T. mysteriosa found in disturbed sites on the periphery of its range probably reflect hybridization with T. chrysophylla. Tephrosia × varioforma DeLaney is a hybrid of T. florida and T. mysteriosa and is apparently formed sporadically. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Tephrosia | Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Tephrosia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Galega spicata, Cracca spicata, T. spicata var. semitonsa | |
Name authority | (Walter) Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 296. (1838) | DeLaney: Bot. Explor. 4: 101, figs. 1, 2A, 3, 6. (2010) |
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