Shrubs, to 7 m, unarmed or weakly spiny, glabrous or puber­ulent. Stems erect, branched from near base, branchlets pubescent; bark gray-brown. Leaves even-pinnate; stipules 5–9 mm, spine-tipped or not; petiole 1–10 cm; rachis present, deciduous, 3–9 cm, spinescent; leaflets 6–12(or 14), blades elliptic or obo­vate to broadly oblong, 1–4 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base rounded to cuneate, apex rounded or truncate, mucronate, surfaces villous or glabrescent. Inflorescences with (1 or)2–4(or 5) flowers per fascicle; peduncle-pedicel 1–6 cm, usually pubescent (often glabrous in fruit). Flowers: calyx broadly campanulate, 4.5–8 mm, teeth broadly triangular, 1–1.5 mm, sometimes appearing unlobed, pubescent or glabrescent, orifice villous; corolla yellow, 1.5–2.3 cm. Legumes reddish brown to brown, linear to oblong, 2.5–6 × 0.4–0.7 cm. Seeds 3–8, grayish yellow to dark or reddish brown, oblong or ovoid to 4-angled, 4–6 mm. 2n = 16.

Phenology: Flowering May–Jul; fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat: Pastures, fields, roadsides, fencerows, woods.
Elevation: 100–2500 m.

Distribution

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Introduced; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., N.W.T., Ont., Que., Sask., Yukon, Alaska, Colo., Idaho, Ill., Iowa, Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., Nebr., N.Mex., N.Dak., Oreg., S.Dak., Utah, Vt., Wash., Wis., Wyo., Asia (Manchuria, Mongolia, Siberia).

Discussion

Caragana arborescens is the most commonly culti­vated Caragana in North America. It is cultivated in almost every Canadian province and in the United States from Maine to Oregon, from Alaska to California, and from North Dakota to Oklahoma; it is naturalized somewhat more narrowly. Shrubs may persist in cultivation and be found in abandoned yards and gardens. The plants are valued for drought and cold resistance and are planted both as an ornamental and for windbreaks. The shoots have been used for cordage; the leaves contain a blue pigment used as a dye; the seeds can be used as food for birds; and the nectar of the flowers provide food for bees (A. I. Pojarkova 1971b). There are named cultivars or varieties of Siberian pea tree, which often are based on growth form or leaflet size and shape.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.