Herbs, perennial, bushy, to 2.5 m. Leaves mesophyllous, 5–14 cm, glabrate; stipules caducous; extrafloral nectary 1, usually between first leaflet pair, sometimes on petiole near first leaflet pair, subsessile or shortly stipitate; leaflet pairs (2–)4 or 5(or 6), blades obliquely lance­olate or lanceolate-elliptic, 24–54 × 6.5–16 mm.

Phenology: Flowering late summer–early spring.
Habitat: Pine savannas, sandy or rocky coastal areas.
Elevation: 0–20 m.

Distribution

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Fla., West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba).

Discussion

Racemes usually 3–16-flowered; bracts caducous. Pedi­cels 7–26 mm. Flowers monosymmetric; calyx green­ish or brownish; corolla yellow, longest petal 9–14 mm; androecium heterantherous, stamens 6, stami­nodes 3 + 1; anthers of middle stamens to 3.3–5.2 mm, of abaxial stamens 4.6–6.5 mm, truncate, dehiscing by 2 pores, apical appendage inconspicuous; gynoecium incurved, ovules unknown; ovary usually finely hairy, rarely glabrous; style incurved, apically dilated. Legumes ascending, sometimes erratically pendulous, compressed subcylindrical, straight, linear, 50–120 × 5–9 mm, slightly corrugated over seeds, tardily dehiscent. Seeds brownish olive green, obovoid to oblong-ellipsoid.

Variety chapmanii has fewer pairs of leaflets than var. berteriana (Balbis ex de Candolle) H. S. Irwin & Barneby (with 7–16 pairs), non-thickened leaflet margins compared to the thickened margins in var. shaferi (Britton & P. Wilson) H. S. Irwin & Barneby, fewer pairs with larger leaflets than var. mexicana (with 5–8 pairs, leaflets 13–28 × 4–10 mm), and narrower leaflets (3–4.5 times longer than wide) than var. latifolia (Bentham) H. S. Irwin & Barneby (leaflets 1.2–2.4 times longer than wide). While var. chapmanii is geographically isolated from vars. berteriana and mexicana, it co-occurs in the Bahamas with var. latifolia and in Cuba with var. shaferi (H. S. Irwin and R. C. Barneby 1982).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.