Chamaecrista flexuosa var. texana
Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35: 700. 1982.
Herbs, perennial, to 0.5 m; often with horizontal, woody rootstock. Stems procumbent or prostrate, branches often zigzag. Leaves 1.5–4.5 cm; stipules to 2 times as long as wide; petiole (1–)1.5–5.5(–10) mm; extrafloral nectary 1 or 2, sessile and concealed in petiolar sulcus or shortly stipitate; leaflets 9–21(–25) pairs, blades linear-oblong, -oblanceolate, or oblong-elliptic, 1–8.5 × 0.4–2.1(–2.5) mm. Racemes 1 or 2(or 3)-flowered, axillary. Pedicels 20–42 mm; bracteoles shortly proximal to calyx. Flowers: calyx red-brown, sepal venation reticulate; corolla bright yellow, petals to 10.5–16 mm; stamens 10; anthers yellow, to 4.5–8.5(–9) mm; ovary gray-hairy. Legumes straight or slightly curved, linear-oblong, 25–70 × 3.5–5 mm. Seeds 3–3.9 mm. 2n = 16.
Phenology: Flowering year-round.
Habitat: Dunes, sandy plains, sandy flats behind barrier beaches, roadsides, old fields.
Elevation: 0–500 m.
Discussion
Variety texana occupies the northern part of the range of the species distributed throughout the Americas to northern Argentina. In the flora area, it is known from Bastrop, Karnes, and Maverick counties.
Selected References
None.