TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

FABACEAE

LEGUME FAMILY

Annual to tree
Leaves generally compound, alternate, stipuled; leaflets generally entire
Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, umbel or head; flowers sometime 1–2 in axils
Flowers generally bisexual, generally bilateral; hypanthium generally flat or cup-like; sepals generally 5, fused; petals generally 5, free, or the 2 lower ± fused; stamens 1–many, often 10 with 9 filaments at least partly fused, 1 (uppermost) free; pistil 1, ovary superior, generally 1-chambered, ovules 1–many, style, stigma 1
Fruit: legume, sometimes including a stalk-like base above receptacle, dehiscent, or indehiscent and breaking into 1-seeded segments, or indehiscent, 1-seeded, and achene-like
Seeds 1–several, often ± reniform, generally hard, smooth
Genera in family: ± 650 genera, 18,000 species: worldwide; with grasses, requisite in agriculture and most natural ecosystems. Many cultivated, most importantly Arachis , peanut; Glycine , soybean; Phaseolus , beans; Medicago ; Trifolium ; and many orns. [Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae] Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.

RUPERTIA

RUPERT'S SCURF-PEA

James W. Grimes

Perennial, unarmed, gland-dotted (especially leaves), hairy or not, caudexed, rhizomed, or stoloned; roots deep, woody, extensive
Stem ± decumbent at base or erect
Leaves odd-1-pinnate, cauline; stipules reflexed, deciduous; leaflets 3
Inflorescence: raceme, generally axillary, with 1 deciduous bract and 2–3 flowers per node
Flower pedicelled; calyx base swollen on top, tube enlarging in fruit; corolla yellowish white to yellow; 9 filaments fused, 1 less so or free; ovary ± hairy, ovule 1, style tip bent, stigma head-like
Fruit indehiscent, elliptic to depressed-obovate in outline, beaked or not
Seed reniform, smooth
Species in genus: 3 species: w North America, especially CA
Etymology: (Rupert C. Barneby, botanist, 1911–2000)
Reference: [Grimes 1990 Mem New York Bot Gard 61:1–114]

Native

R. hallii (Rydb.) J.W. Grimes

Plant hairy or not
Stem erect, < 1 m
Leaf: stipule 13–15 mm, widely elliptic to obtriangular; petiole 10–30 mm; main axis 2–2.8 cm; leaflets 4–9 cm, lanceolate to widely ovate, with glands but no hairs on both surfaces
Inflorescence: bract 9–13 mm, tardily deciduous; pedicel 2 mm
Flower: calyx 14–15 mm; banner 11–12 mm
Fruit 7–10 mm, elliptic, with hairs and sparse, minute, golden glands that fade with age; beak 1–3 mm, widely attached
Seed 6–7 mm, red-brown
Ecology: Very uncommon. Woodland openings
Elevation: < 2250 m.
Bioregional distribution: Sierra Nevada Foothills (Butte, Tehama cos.)
Synonyms: Hoita h. Rydb
Fr rare
Horticultural information: TRY.