Comprehensive Description
provided by North American Flora
Cracca cinerea (L) Morong, Ann. N. Y. Acad Sci. 7: 79. 1892.
Galega cinerea I. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 1172. 1759.
Tephrosia cinerea Pers. Syn. PI. 2: 529. 1S07.
Tcphroiia procumbens Macfad. PI. Jam. 1: 256. 1837. Not T. procumbens Buch.-Ham. 1822.
Cracca villosa cinerea Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 173. 1891.
A perennial, suffruticose below, with a woody root; stem prostrate, diffuse or ascending, 3-6 dm. high, strigose, cinereous especially when young, angled; leaves 410 cm. long; stipules 3-8 mm. long, acuminate, persistent; petiole 5-15 mm. long; rachis cineieous-strigose; leaflets 9-17, linearor oblong-oblanceolate, 2-5 cm. long, 4-8 mm. wide, obtuse or acutish at the apex, acute at the base, sparingly strigose or glabrate above, cinereous-strigose beneath, or in one form almost equally cinereous on both sides; racemes opposite the leaves, lax, including the peduncle 5-10 cm. long; bractlets subulate or setaceous, persistent; calyx cinereousstrigose, the tube 2 mm. long, the lobes subulate, 3 mm. long or more; corolla purplish, 1015 mm. long; banner suborbicular, strigose without; pod 4-5 cm. long, 4-5 mm. wide, strigose, nearly straight, 6-12 seeded; seeds brown, mottled, 4 mm. long, 2 mm. broad.
TypB locality: [By inference] Jamaica.
Distribution: West Indies; Yucatan, Chiapas, and Guatemala; also from Venezuela and Colombia to Paraguay; introduced at Mobile, Alabama.
- bibliographic citation
- Per Axel Rydberg. 1919. (ROSALES); FABACEAE; PSORALEAE. North American flora. vol 24(1). New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY
Physical Description
provided by USDA PLANTS text
Perennial, Herbs, Vines, twining, climbing, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems prostrate, trailing, or mat forming, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stem hairs hispid to villous, Stems silvery, canescent, tomentose, cobwebby, or wooly, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence leaf-opposed, Bracts conspicuously present, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals pinkish to rose, Petals blue, lavander to purple, or violet, Banner petal ovoid or obovate, Banner petal suborbicular, broadly rounded, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens diadelphous, 9 united, 1 free, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style sharply bent, Style hairy, Style hairy on one side only, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit exserted from calyx, Valves twisting or coiling after dehiscence, Fruit beaked, Fruit hairy, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black, Seed surface mottled or patchy.