Herbs annual or perennial. Stems prostrate, ascending, or erect, diffuse, 30–100(–200) cm, pubescent, hairs sparsely unci­nate. Leaves usually unifolio­late, rarely 3-foliolate; stipules 5–30 mm; petiole 2–17 mm; leaflet blades oblong, obovate, or narrowly ovate to linear, 2–4.5(–6.5) × 0.2–2 cm, base obtuse or rounded, apex rounded, retuse, acute, or acuminate, abaxial surface sparsely subappressed-villous, slightly reticulate. Inflorescences 6–30+-flowered, axillary, terminal, or leaf-opposed, racemes, usually 2–8 cm. Pedicels 2–5 mm. Flowers: calyx 5–7 mm, tube 1–1.5 mm, lobes imbricate at base, lanceolate, 5–8 mm, acute or acuminate; corolla white or red-blue, 6–7 mm. Infructescences dense to lax, internodes shorter than or equal to loment length, sometimes lax proximally (5–10 mm), dense distally (to 1 mm). Loments subterete or laterally compressed, ovoid to shortly oblong, 4–12 × 2.5–3 mm, shorter or longer than calyx, scarcely exserted from calyx, margins constricted between segments, glabrescent; segments 1–4, globose or transversely elliptic, 1–2 × 2–2.5 mm, lateral surfaces distinctly reticulate and cross-rugose; septa with internal cross partition between segments. Seeds compressed, olive, oblong, rhombic, or 4-sided, 1.5–2.5 × 1.2–1.8 mm, 0.8–1.2 mm thick. 2n = 16.

Phenology: Flowering Jul–Nov.
Habitat: Waste areas, fallow fields.
Elevation: 0–10 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Loading map...

Introduced; Fla., Asia, Africa.

Discussion

Alysicarpus rugosus is known from Miami-Dade County. It has been cultivated experimentally for forage or plowed under to improve soil quality, and rarely escapes cultivation.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.