Angiosperms: Dicotyledons

Fabaceae
Legume Family

• Stem: perennial; 2’ tall; little branched; sparsely hairy.
• Leaves: alternate; pinnately compound, 4 1/2” by 2”; about seven to eleven pairs of leaflets; leaflets 1 1/2” by 1/2”, oval with somewhat rounded bases and tapered tips; smooth above and below.
• Inflorescence: racemes at the ends of flower stalks from the stem tip and upper leaf axils; 1 1/2” long; flower stalks hairy.
• Flowers: corolla cream-colored, 1/2” long; calyx 3/16” long, deeply, sharply lobed; flowering from late June to mid-July.
• Fruits: inflated pods, 1/2” long by 1/8” in diameter, brown; covered with hooked hairs, 3/32” long; fruiting begins in early July.
• Habitat: common on moist prairies and in other moist, open sites; less common toward the south and east in Iowa.
• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa