| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
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
Reference: [Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae]
Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.
Perennial, unarmed
Leaves odd-1-pinnate; stipules tiny or 0
Inflorescence: raceme, axillary; bractlets at base of calyx
Flower: calyx lobes subequal, < tube; corolla reddish; 9 filaments fused, 1 free; style hairy at tip
Fruit bladdery-inflated; base stalk-like; flange longitudinal, internal, on upper side
Seeds many
Species in genus: 2 species: arid regions of Eurasia
Etymology: (Greek: sphere bladder)
| Introduced |
Plant spreading by root sprouting
Stem ascending, 4–15 dm
Leaf: leaflets 15–23, 0.6–2 cm, oblong to ovate
Inflorescence: pedicels 3–7 mm
Flower: corolla 12–14 mm, brick- or orange-red, keel > wings
Fruit spreading or reflexed, 1.4–2.4 cm, spheric to ovoid, grooved on upper side, papery or membranous, often mottled, glabrous; stalk-like base 4–7 mm
Ecology: Cult fields, disturbed sites
Elevation: < 500 m.
Bioregional distribution: s San Joaquin Valley, possibly elsewhere
Distribution outside California: sporadic in w US; native to Asia
Weedy.