Herbs from elongate, narrowly fusiform to cylindric, woody taproot. Stems procumbent, creeping, not rooting at nodes, sometimes weakly twining dis­tally, minutely strigose, hairs retrorsely or antrorsely appressed; some or most inter­nodes, especially proximally, longer than largest leaf­let of adjacent node. Leaflets 3, blades elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate or broadly lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, sometimes linear-elliptic, (8–)15–45(–60) × (4–)10–25(–32) mm, ± leathery, veins slightly but distinctly raised on adaxial or both surfaces, apex obtuse to rounded or shallowly retuse, surfaces moderately to densely short-strigose with closely appressed hairs and lighter green but not glaucous abaxially, glabrous or sparsely short-strigose or minutely hirtellous and darker, slightly glossy or not adaxially. Inflorescences: flowers usually (3–)5–15(–25), rarely 1 or 2, in pseudoracemes on distal 3/4 of shorter axes or usually on distal 1/5–1/4 of longer axes, often fasciculate distally; axis (5–)20–80(–150) mm. Flowers: calyx 5–7 mm, sparsely strigose to glabrate, lobes greenish yellow to tan on inner surface when dry; corolla not persisting after anthesis, lavender or violet to purplish, bright pink, or pinkish, lighter when dry, 11–15 mm. Legumes straight, (25–)30–60 × 4–5(–6) mm, densely strigose to strigose-sericeous, glabrescent. Seeds (3–)5–8(–12).

Phenology: Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Sep.
Habitat: Sand pine-slash pine, white sand scrub, oak and pine-oak scrub, turkey oak woodlands, longleaf pine savannas, pine flatwoods, oak-hickory woods, pine-oak margins, xeric hammocks, low dunes, sandhills and ridges, sandy fields, roadsides, swamp margins, ditches, canal and river banks, river terraces, vacant lots, disturbed sites.
Elevation: 0–100 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Ala., D.C., Fla., Ga., Md., N.J., N.C., S.C., Va.

Discussion

Galactia brachypoda is a coastal plain species that ranges from Maryland and Virginia to Alabama. The species is characterized by its essentially prostrate habit, mostly non-twining, short-strigose (antrorse or retrorse) stems (sometimes weakly twining distally), subcoriaceous leaflets with raised venation, and relatively large corollas. Plants of G. brachypoda with distally twining stems and relatively small leaves might be mistaken for G. regularis; the latter has climbing and consistently twining stems with looser and non-appressed vestiture, thinner leaves, and longer inflorescences with curved axes and smaller, less congested flowers.

W. H. Duncan (1979b) mapped three morpho-geographic entities of Galactia brachypoda, emphasizing stem vestiture; the widespread entity has appressed-retrorse hairs, while the other two have appressed-antrorse hairs. There appears to be no other difference that would consistently distinguish among these population systems and thus all are identified here as G. brachypoda. Analogous, alternate orientation of cauline vestiture occurs in G. joselyniae, G. microphylla, G. pinetorum, and G. smallii (G. L. Nesom 2015).

Many plants having antrorse hairs are encountered in Georgia, South Carolina, and southeastern North Carolina; these have narrower leaflets than elsewhere in the range.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.