Nissolia platycalyx S.Watson
-
Authority
Rudd, Velva E. 1956. A revision of the genus Nissolia. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 32: 173-206.
-
Family
Fabaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Type
Type locality: Mountains, 6 miles east of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. Type collected by Palmer (No. 248 in part), cited below.
-
Description
Description - Climbing vine, the stems moderately crisp-pubescent, glabrate; stipules lanceate, 3-5 mm. long, 0.5-1 mm. wide, entire, pubescent to subglabrous; leaves 4-7 cm. long; leaflets elliptic, 5-25 mm. long, 4-15 mm. wide, glabrous or nearly so, obtuse, mucronulate, the base obtuse; inflorescences 1-4-flowered, the pedicels 6-8 mm. long, pubescent; flowers 14-20 mm. long, the standard essentially straight; calyx 6.5-10 mm. long, the tube 4.5-6 mm. long, 4-5 mm. in diameter, pubescent to subglabrous, the teeth subulate, 1.5-4.5 mm. long; fruit 3-4 cm. long, 2-4-articulate, pubescent when 3 roung, subglabrous at maturity, the stipe about 4 mm. long, the fertile articles 5-7 mm. long, about 5 mm. wide, the terminal, sterile article 2-3 cm. long and about 1 cm. wide; seeds about 5 mm. long and 3 mm. wide.
-
Discussion
Nissolia platyccdyx has the largest flowers of the genus; when the species is in fruit, the persistent, large calyx serves to identify it. It apparently is the only member of the genus in which 7-foliolate, as well as 5-foliolate, leaves are to be found. The collections of the Mexican Boundary Survey, cited above, were reported as Chaetocalyx wislizeni by Torrey in his report of the Survey (56. 1859).