Amorpha canescens Pursh - Leadplant


 

|  back  | forward |

Amorpha canescens - (image 1 of 9)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Leguminosae

Habitat

Dry and mesic prairies. Sandy open woods.

Associates

 

Distribution

Southern MI west to MN and Saskatchewan, south to IL, MO, AR, TX, and NM.

Morphology

Woody shrub to 1 m high. Leaves nearly sessile, pinnately compound, 14 to 20 pairs of leaflets up to 1.5 cm long. Flowers in spike-like racemes, clustered in groups of 5 to 20, the terminal raceme longer than the laterals; Flowers deep purple; stamens 10, exceeding the petals.

Notes

Flowers June to August

Wetland Indicator: Upland

The entire shrub is gray-tomentose, giving it a leaden appearance, hence the common name. The deep yellow-orange anthers stand out among the blue-violet petals. Native Americans used the leaves to make tea and as an additive to tobacco.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

 

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

 


Home

 

© Michael Hough 2004