| Strophostyles leiosperma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Typical flower & pod, Gray Summit, Missouri | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Strophostyles |
| Species: | S. leiosperma |
| Binomial name | |
| Strophostyles leiosperma | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
List
| |
Strophostyles leiosperma, known as slickseed fuzzybean, or smoothseed / small-flower wildbean [3] [4] is a species of herbaceous, vining legume native to the central to western U.S. It occurs west to Colorado and New Mexico, east to Louisiana, south to Mexico, and north to Minnesota. [5] [6] It is most easily distinguished from the other two Strophostyles species by the abundance of small silky hairs on its leaves and pods, and small pea-shaped flowers with a much reduced keel that is largely hidden by the wing petals.
This species is an annual to short-lived perennial. All parts tend to be smaller for S. leiosperma in general than its congeners, and it is a more diminutive plant overall. The leaflets are typically thin and rarely lobed (never deeply lobed). Unlike its congeners, its seeds rarely have a waxy, hairy covering, and it tends to occur in drier sites. [5] Likewise, the specific epithet leiosperma means "smooth seed." [7] It is also the most likely of these species to be capable of self-fertilization. [5]
S. leiosperma flower & unripe pod
