Tephrosia chrysophylla

Tephrosia chrysophylla
Photo by Shirley Denton (Copyrighted, use by photographer’s permission only), Nature Photography by Shirley Denton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae
Genus:	Tephrosia
Species:	T. chrysophylla
Binomial name
Tephrosia chrysophylla Pursh
Natural range of Tephrosia chrysophylla from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: scurf hoarypea

Taxonomic notes

Synonyms: Cracca chrysophylla (Pursh) Kuntze; Cracca carpenteri Rydberg; Cracca chapmanii (Vail) Small

Description

Perennial, Herbs, Stems woody below, or from woody crown or caudex, Taproot present, Nodules present, 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, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 5-9, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence leaf-opposed, Bracts conspi cuously present, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals white, Petals pinkish to rose, Petals blue, lavander to purple, or violet, Petals bicolored or with red, purple or yellow streaks or spots, 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.

Distribution

Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Critically imperiled in Georgia.

Ecology

Habitat

In the Coastal Plain, T. chrysophylla habitats include longleaf pine-oak-wiregrass woodlands, sand pine scrubs, pine/wiregrass communities, scrub oak wiregrass sandhills, and upland turkey oak longleaf pinewoods. It has been found in disturbed areas such as along logging roads, a clear cut disturbed longleaf pine scrub oak ridge, an open sand ridge plowed three years previously, a bulldozed clearing in turkey oak longleaf pine, a sandy old quarry, a clobbered slash pine forest, and coarse sandy clearing of longleaf pine scrub oak barren. Soil types include loamy sand, sand, and sandy peat. Associated species include Balduina angustifolia, Dalea feayi, and Polygonella robusta.

Phenology

Flowering occurs June through September and fruiting May through October.

Fire ecology

It has been observed growing in burned pine flatwoods.

Pollination

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Tephrosia chrysophylla at Archbold Biological Station (Deyrup 2015):

Halictidae: Nomia maneei

Megachilidae: Megachile brimleyi, M. georgica

References and notes

Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: November 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, A.F. Clewell, M. Davis, Robert K. Godfrey, Ann F. Johnson, R. Komarek, Robert Kral, Robert L. Lazor, K. MacClendon, R.S. Mitchell, Gwynn W. Ramsey, H.R. Reed, Grady W. Reinert, Cecil R. Slaughter, John K. Small, D.B. Ward States and Counties: Alabama: Covington, Geneva. Florida: Calhoun, Citrus, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hernando, Highlands, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Putnam, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton. Georgia: Grady. Mississippi: Poplarville. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.