Pediomelum subacaule

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Pediomelum subacaule
Pediomelum subacaule.jpg
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Pediomelum
Species:
P. subacaule
Binomial name
Pediomelum subacaule
(Torr. & A.Gray) Rydb.

Pediomelum subacaule is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Nashville breadroot and whiterim scurfpea. It is native to a small area of Eastern North America, only being found in limestone cedar glades of the Interior Low Plateau and Ridge and Valley ecoregions of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. [2]

This species is a geophyte, and is well adapted to the desert-like conditions of flat limestone glades. The plants flower in April and set seed in May, then quickly die back in summer, beginning new growth when the cool temperatures of fall set in. This life cycle is in harmony with the availability of water in the harsh cedar glade environment, which is often saturated with water in the winter and spring but extremely hot and dry during the summer. [3]

References

  1. "Pediomelum subacaule". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  2. "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States". Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  3. Baskin, Jerry; Baskin, Carol (1990). "Temperature Relations for Bud Growth in the Root Geophyte Pediomelum subacaule and Ecological Implications". Botanical Gazette. 151 (4): 506–509. doi:10.1086/337850. JSTOR   2995337.