Fabaceae
Legume Family
Trailing wild bean
Strophostyles helvula (L.) Ell.
- Stem: annual; vine, up to 2’ long; branching near the base; sparsely long-hairy.
- Leaves: alternate; pinnately compound, three to five leaflets; all but the lowest having three-lobed leaflets, 1 1/8” by 7/8”; leaf stalks about 3/4” long; leaflets hairy above and below.
- Inflorescence: three- to five-flowered racemes on 2” flower stalks from the leaf axils.
- Flowers: corolla pink, 3/8” long; calyx 1/8” long, hairy; flowering from mid-July to mid-September.
- Fruits: pods long-tubular, 2” long by 3/16” in diameter, brown; splitting and twisting when mature; usually only one pod per flower stalk; seeds squarish, 1/4” long, dark brown; fruiting begins in late July.
- Habitat: frequent in sandy, rocky open places but also on moist sites, usually with some disturbance; less frequent in northern Iowa.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
Can be found in these counties:
