Tephrosia florida

Herbs. Stems prostrate to procumbent, 10–80 cm, glabrous or strigulose. Leaves: 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. Racemes axillary and terminal, 2–6-flowered, evident (flowers well above level of leaves), 5–15(–25) cm; floral bracts persistent, linear-subulate. Flowers: corolla yellowish white to white, aging dark purple, 10–14 mm; stamens diadelphous; style bearded. Legumes 25–40 × 4–5 mm, sparsely strigulose.

Phenology: Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat: Fields, dunes, turkey oak scrub, longleaf pine savannas, pine barrens, pine-palmetto, pine-oak, pine-hardwood uplands.
Elevation: 10–50 m.

Ala., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., N.C., S.C.

Discussion

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.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa