Indian rush-pea

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Indian rush-pea inflorescence

Indian rush-pea flower

Indian rush-pea leaves

Indian rush-pea

Indian rush-pea flowers and stalked glands

Indian rush-pea

Morphology

Stem

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.

Inflorescence

Raceme, 4 to 8 inches long, 5-15-flowered, pubescent, glandular, terminal.

Flower

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.

Fruit

Pods, flat, 1/10 to 1/6 inch long, lustrous; seeds 2-8, ovate.

Ecology

Habitat

Prairies, fields, roadsides, stream valleys, disturbed areas; open alkaline sites; rocky or sandy soils.

Distribution

Southwest 1/4 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

The underground tubers are eaten by hogs.

Uses

Native Americans roasted and ate the underground tubers.

Additional Notes