Herbs, unarmed, to 1 m, base woody, from thick, woody rootstock. Stems several, gla­brous, sparsely glandular. Leaves: stipules persistent, suborbiculate, 3 mm, base auriculate, apex rounded, surfaces pubescent, margins ciliate and fimbriate-glandular, scarious; petiole 1.5–3 cm, glabrous, sparsely glandular; rachis 3–5 cm, glabrous, sparsely glandular; pinnae 2–4 pairs, opposite or subopposite, also with terminal pinna distinctly longer than lateral pinnae; leaflets in 3–7 opposite pairs on lateral pinnae, 8–20 pairs on terminal pinna, blades obliquely ovate, terminal blades 1–6 × 0.5–4 mm, median blades 4.5–9 × 3.5–7 mm, fleshy, margins thickened, apex acute, apiculate, main and secondary veins brochidodromous, surfaces glabrous; blades with dark, punctate glands sparsely scattered over abaxial surface or blades eglandular but gland-tipped at apiculate apex, with gland-tipped appendage at base of each petiolule insertion. Inflorescences 6–15-flowered, axillary or terminal; axis glabrous or very sparsely pubescent, also sparsely glandular; bracts ovate, 3–4 mm, apex acute, pubescent and sparsely glandular. Pedicels unarticulate, 5–8 mm, crinkled-pubescent with white hairs, sessile- and stipitate-glandular. Flowers: calyx lobes 7–7.5 mm, lower lobe cucullate, outer surface crinkled-pubescent and glandular (most glands sessile); petals clawed, blades glabrous with pubescent claw margins, outer surfaces densely glandular with sessile, subglobose, mushroom cap-shaped glands; banner broadly ovate, 8 × 8 mm (including 0.5 mm claw); lower laterals oblanceolate, 10.5–12 × 4.5–5 mm (including 1.5 mm claw); upper laterals broadly elliptic, 9–11 × 5.5–6 mm (including 0.5 mm claw); filaments 10–11 mm, densely pubescent on basal 1/3–1/2, sparsely pubescent on distal 1/2–2/3, hairs mostly reflexed; anthers 1.5 × 0.8 mm; ovary densely lanate and densely sessile-glandular basally, or distal 1/2 and margin densely pubescent, basal 1/2 glandular; style 10–11 mm, glabrous; stigma a terminal, tubular or flared, fringed chamber. Legumes 2.4–4.6 × 1–1.6 cm, papery or leathery, sparsely pubescent or glabrescent, sparsely to moderately glandular with short-stalked or sessile glands. Seeds (1–)3 or 4.

Phenology: Flowering nearly year-round.
Habitat: In orange or red sand, sandy gravel in open areas of mesquite.
Elevation: 0–200 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Tex., Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas).

Discussion

Erythrostemon caudatus is known from southern Texas northward to Dimmit County.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.