Herbs, annual or perennial, not darkening on drying. Stems erect, to 2.5 m, glabrous or moderately glandular-hispid. Leaves 5–10 cm; stipules peltate, 10–15 × 2–3 mm, apex acuminate; leaflets (30–)50–70, blades 1-veined, nearly symmetric, elliptic-oblong, 2–10 × 1–2.5 mm, margins entire, apex obtuse to subacute, surfaces glabrous. Inflorescences 1–5-flowered, racemes, axis glabrous or hispidulous. Flowers: calyx 4–6 mm, bilabiate, abaxial lip 3-dentate, adaxial lip 2-dentate, glabrous; corolla yellow to purplish, 7–10 mm, banner glabrous; gynophore 3–10 mm, continuous with proximal segment, glabrous. Loments: abaxial margin slightly crenate, adaxial margin ± straight, sutures between segments well developed, margins not separating from valves; segments 5–8(–12), subquadrate, 5–6 × 4–6 mm, reticulate venation slightly to moderately prominent in immature fruit, not visible in mature fruit, center of each rarely muricate or verrucose, faces glabrous or sparsely hispid, hairs bulbous-based, glandular. Seeds dark brown, 3–4 × 2–3 mm. 2n = 40.
Phenology: Flowering May–Nov.
Habitat: coastal se Asia.
Elevation: 0–100 m.
Distribution
Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., Mo., N.C., Okla., S.C., Tex., Va., West Indies (Puerto Rico), South America (s Brazil), coastal se Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia.
Discussion
Some of the Texas collections have earlier been called Aeschynomene evenia C. Wright, a species described from Cuba that may be a variant of A. indica.
Selected References
None.