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.

THERMOPSIS

GOLDEN PEA, FALSE-LUPINE

Duane Isely

Perennial, unarmed, generally hairy, rhizomed
Stem erect; lower nodes leafless
Leaves palmately compound; lower stipules clasping stem, scarious, others not clasping, green; leaflets 3
Inflorescence: raceme, terminal; bracts like stipules, ± persistent
Flower: calyx lobes 5, but upper 2 variously fused; corolla yellow; stamens 10, free
Fruit slowly dehiscent, short or oblong, flat; base stalk-like; margin often wavy
Species in genus: ± 10 species: North America, Asia
Etymology: (Greek: like a lupine)
Reference: [Isely 1951 Mem New York Bot Garden 25(3):104–122]

Native

T. macrophylla Hook. & Arn.

Plant green, gray, or silvery
Stem 0.3–2 m
Leaf: leaflets 2.5–6 cm, oblanceolate to ovate
Inflorescence 1–5 dm, 6–many-flowered; bracts conspicuous
Flower: calyx 7–10 mm, lobes ± = or < tube; corolla 15–25 mm; ovary generally hairy
Fruit spreading to erect, oblong, often curved, often narrowed in places by poor seed set
Seeds few–several
Chromosomes: 2n=18,36
Ecology: Grassland, chaparral, sandy scrub, woodlands, open ridges, disturbed areas
Elevation: < 2100 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, Cascade Range, Central Western California, Southwestern California, Modoc Plateau
Distribution outside California: Oregon
Regionally diverse complex that has been classified variously.

Native

var. venosa (Eastw.) Isely

Plant glabrous or puberulent
Stem generally 4–8 dm, irregularly branched
Fruit spreading to ascending
Chromosomes: 2n=36
Ecology: Open, generally dry sites, disturbed woodlands
Elevation: 300–1300 m.
Bioregional distribution: Klamath Ranges, North Coast Ranges
Distribution outside California: Oregon
Synonyms: T. gracilis Howell
Horticultural information: TRY; STBL.