Hedysarum L.
Liquorice-root, Eskimo potato.
Fabaceae (Leguminosae), pea family.
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; 10–40 cm high; with leaves or spreading stems. Taproot present. Aerial stems erect; sparsely hairy, or densely hairy. Leaves distributed along the stems; alternate, or opposite; compound. Stipules present; scale-like; sheathing; brown. Petioles 5–25 mm long. Blades 2–10 mm long; 10–60 mm wide. Blades veins pinnate. Blades adaxial surface glabrous, or hairy. Blades abaxial surface glabrous, or hairy. Leaflet arrangement pinnate (leaflets alternate). Leaflets 5–13; 5–40 mm long; linear, or ovate, or lanceolate. Leaflets veins conspicuous, or veins inconspicuous.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering stems without leaves; hairy, or glabrous. Inflorescence racemose; terminal; 2–8 cm long. Flowers per inflorescence 5–15; medium-sized, 5–15 mm in diameter or length, or large, more than 15 mm in diameter or length; zygomorphic. Calyx sepals 5; fused. Calyx green, or brown; tubular; 5-lobed; hairy. Calyx teeth equal or nearly so, or sub-equal or unequal. Petals both free and fused; 5; pink, or purple; with contrasting markings (without an appendage on the keel); unlobed, or shallowly lobed; 10–25 mm long. Corolla papilionaceous. Wing auricles free from each other, blunt, shorter than the claw, or united, linear, nearly equal to the claw. Stamens 10. Nectaries present. Gynoecia superior. Carpels monomerous. Stigmas per style 1. Ovules 2–6. Fruit with calyx persisting; dry; a loment; elongate-cylindrical; not distinctly flattened, or distinctly flattened; indehiscent (but splitting between the articles of the loment). Fruit 20–40 mm long; 4–8 mm wide; yellowish, or brown; glabrous, or hairy. Loment margins wingless, or winged with auricles. Seeds 1–6; 1.5–3 mm long; brown; with surfaces smooth.
Chromosome information. 2n = 14, 28.
Distribution. Arctic Islands: Parry Islands, Banks, Victoria.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).