Hedysarum L.
Liquorice-root, Eskimo potato.
Plants with leaves or spreading stems arising from a caudex; 10–40 cm high. Aerial stems erect; sparsely hairy, or densely hairy. Leaves distributed along the stems; alternate, or opposite. Stipules scale-like; sheathing; brown. Petioles 5–25 mm long. Blades 2–10 cm long; 10–60 mm wide; with pinnate veins; glabrous, or hairy; with hairs on the abaxial surface only, or with hairs equally dense on both surfaces. Leaflet arrangement pinnate (leaflets alternate); leaflets 5–13; leaflets 5–40 mm long; leaflets linear, or ovate, or lanceolate; veins conspicuous, or veins inconspicuous.
Flowering stems 5–20 cm long (arching or straight); without leaves; hairy, or glabrous. Inflorescence racemose; 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. Calyx green, or brown; tubular; 5-lobed. Calyx teeth equal or nearly so, or subequal or unequal. Petals 5; pink, or purple; unlobed, or 2-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. Stigmas per style 1. Ovules 2–6. Fruit with calyx persisting; a loment; elongate-cylindrical; not distinctly flattened, or distinctly flattened; 20–40 mm long; 4–8 mm wide; indehiscent (but splitting between the articles of the loment); yellowish, or brown; glabrous, or hairy. Loment margins wingless, or winged with auricles. Seeds 1–6; 1.5–3 mm long; brown.
Chromosome information. 2n = 14, 28.
Distribution. Arctic Islands: Parry Islands, Banks, Victoria.
Cite this publication as: J.M. Gillett, L.L. Consaul, S.G. Aiken and M.J. Dallwitz (1999 onwards). ‘Fabaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval.’ Version: 15th November 2000. http://http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).