Indigofera sphaerocarpa
Smithsonian Contr. Knowl. 5(6): 37. 1853.
Shrubs or subshrubs (woody), strigose, hairs appressed. Stems erect, diffusely branched, 3–15 dm. Leaves 2.5–9 cm; stipules linear-triangular, 1–2 mm; petiole 0.3–1.5 cm; stipels 0.5 mm; petiolules 1.3 mm; leaflets 13–19, opposite, blades elliptic to obovate-oblong, sometimes folded, 20–30 × 2–5 mm, base cuneate, apex broadly rounded or truncate, mucronate, surfaces strigose and pale abaxially, glabrate adaxially. Peduncles 0.8–1.2 cm. Racemes 20–35+-flowered, lax, 2.5–11 cm. Pedicels 1–2 mm. Flowers 4.5–5.2 mm; calyx 1.5–2 mm, lobes broadly triangular; corolla orange-mauve or pinkish. Legumes brown, divergent or deflexed, ellipsoidal, straight, 3–3.5 mm, leathery, glabrate. Seed 1, brown, bluntly ellipsoidal.
Phenology: Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes, with grasses, oaks.
Elevation: 1000–1800 m.
Distribution
Ariz., Calif., N.Mex., Mexico (Chihuahua, Jalisco, Sonora).
Discussion
Indigofera sphaerocarpa is known in the flora area from Cochise, Graham, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, Arizona, and Hidalgo County, New Mexico. A single specimen from the Joshua Tree National Monument, Riverside County, California, was collected in 1973 (Smith & Sawyer 6890, HSC).
Selected References
None.