INDIAN RUSH-PEA
File Size: 72 KB
 
Hoffmannseggia glauca   (Ortega ) Eifert
Morton County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 2-16 inches
Family: Fabaceae - Bean Family
Flowering Period:   May, June, July, August, September
Also Called: Pignut, hog potato.
Stems: Erect or spreading, simple or branched, glabrous or pubescent, glands on stalks above.
Leaves: Alternate, mostly basal, odd twice pinnately compound; segment pairs 2-6 plus 1; leaflet pairs 6-11 per segment; leaflets nearly sessile, elliptic or oblong, 1/10 to 2/5 inch long, about 1/10 inch wide, minutely pubescent or nearly smooth, lower surface without orange glands.
Inflorescences: Raceme, 4 to 8 inches long, 5-15-flowered, pubescent, glandular, terminal.
Flowers: Stalks 1/10 to 1/5 inch long, pubescent, glandular; calyx 5-lobed, pubescent, glandular; lobes 1/4 inch long; petals 5, 2/5 to 1/2 inch long, yellowish-orange, claws glandular; stamens 10, separate, shorter than petals; filaments red, pubescent, glandular.
Fruits: Pods, flat, 1/10 to 1/6 inch long, lustrous; seeds 2-8, ovate.
Habitat: Prairies, fields, roadsides, stream valleys, disturbed areas; open alkaline sites; rocky or sandy soils.
Distribution: Southwest 1/4 of Kansas.
Forage Value: The underground tubers are eaten by hogs.
Uses: Native Americans roasted and ate the underground tubers.
Comments: An aggressive noxious weed in Kansas and other states. Named for Johann Centurius von Hoffmannsegg, 1766-1849, Count of Hoffmannsegg, Germany.

Indian rush-pea
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Morton County, Kansas
Indian rush-pea inflorescence
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Morton County, Kansas
Indian rush-pea flower
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Morton County, Kansas
Indian rush-pea flowers and stalked glands
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Morton County, Kansas
Indian rush-pea leaves
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Morton County, Kansas