Family – Fabaceae
Stems:
Leaves:
Inflorescence:
Flowers:
Calyx.
Flowering – Late May – August.
Habitat – Open woods, pine flatwoods, sandhills, roadsides.
Origin – Native to North America.
Other information – This attractive species can be found throughout Alabama. The plant is easy to identify becasue of its ascending to clambering stems, its long calyx lobes, its dense, ferruginous, pilose to villous hairs, and its brilliant red flowers. The flowers are yellow in bud, then pink when first opened, then quickly turn red.
The genus name Tephrosia derives from the Greek “tephr(o)” meaning “ashes, ash-colored, gray” from the stems, leaves, and fruit of another species.
The species epithet spicata derives from the Latin “spic(a)” meaning “a spike, point” referring to the inflorescence.
Alabama Distribution:
Photographs taken at Tuskeegee National Forest, AL., 6-8-05.