Baptisia sphaerocarpa Nutt.

  • Authority

    Isely, Duane. 1981. Leguminosae of the United States. III. Subfamily Papilionoideae: tribes Sophoreae, Podalyrieae, Loteae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25 (3): 1-264.

  • Family

    Fabaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Baptisia sphaerocarpa Nutt.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Erect, glabrescent or subglaucous herb from a woody caudex (-rhizomatous) and cord-like roots. Stems solitary or clustered, branched, clump-forming, 6-10 dm, with puberulent new growth. Leaves subsessile or petioled to 3(-5) mm; blades trifoliate or (especially in s part of range), the upper bifoliolate or unifo-liolate; leaflets obovate, elliptic to oblanceolate, 3-8 cm (-uppermost smaller), ca. 1.7-4 r. Stipules subulate, deciduous. Racemes spike-like, terminal on main axis and branches with 5-20 or more ascending flowers ca. 2 cm; bracts early deciduous. Pedicels 2-6 cm. Calyx 7-8 mm, puberulent and finely ciliate at orifice; lobes 2.5-3.5 mm. Corolla bright yellow (-white). Ovary stipitate ca. 3 mm; body ellipsoid, ca. 4 mm, minutely puberulent, ovules 12-14; style long, sharply differentiated. Legume ascending or erect, exserted-stipitate 5-8 mm, initially ellipsoid with conspicuous stylar beak to 1 cm, becoming subspheroid, slightly inflated, ca. 1.4-1.8 cm diam; valves initially fleshy, thick (1-2 mm), hard and woody at maturity, glabrous, brown or black. Seeds several.

  • Discussion

    B. viridis Larisey (1940). Baptisia sphaerocarpa, the showiest of the central-southern Baptisia, is known by its erect, often ample racemes of yellow flowers followed by woody, globose pods. The upper leaves of plants in the southern part of the range are commonly bifoliolate or simple. Larisey (1940a) characterized these plants as B. viridis, supposed to differ further from B. sphaerocarpa in the length of the pod stipe and beak and of the petioles. It is true that plants of south Texas more often have simplified leaves than those of Oklahoma, but the level of foliage reduction may vary considerably within a single population and does not satisfactorily correlate with other characters. I thus concur with Correll and Johnston (1970) who abandon B. viridis. Baptisia sphaerocarpa hybridizes with B. bracteata, B. lactea, and possibly with B. nuttalliana.

  • Distribution

    W Arkansas and se Oklahoma, s to Gulf coast in e Texas, e to s Mississippi; waif introduction in Missouri. Open woodlands, especially in n part of range, inland prairies (Oklahoma) and moist coastal prairies (Texas and Louisiana); creek banks and river bottoms, pastures, old fields, roadsides, railroad rights-of-way; usually in heavy soils; common and locally forming extensive populations. March-April (s); April-May (n).

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