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Species of legume From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tephrosia virginiana, also known as goat-rue, goat's rue,[3] catgut,[3] rabbit pea,[3] Virginia tephrosia,[3] hoary pea,[4] and devil's shoestring[5] is a perennial dicot in family Fabaceae. The plant is native to central and eastern North America.
| Tephrosia virginiana | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Tephrosia |
| Species: | T. virginiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Tephrosia virginiana | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
This subshrub is low and bushy, growing to 60 centimetres (2 ft), but more often shorter. Its leaves are alternate and compound, usually with 8 to 15 pairs of narrow, oblong leaflets.[4] Soft white hairs on the leaves and the stem give them a silvery, or hoary, appearance.[6]
The flowers look similar to other flowers in the pea family and are bi-colored, with a pale yellow or cream upper petal (the standard), and pink petals on the bottom (the keel and wings).[5] The flowers are grouped into clusters at the top of the stems and bloom from May to August. The seed pods that form after the flowers bloom are small, approximately 5 centimetres (2 in) long.[4]
The roots are long and stringy, which is probably the source of the common names catgut and devil's shoestrings.[5]
This plant prefers acidic soils, in part to full sun.[7] It grows throughout the Midwest, New England and southeastern United States.[8] Not easy to propagate because of the relationship it has with the acid soil it needs,[9] this plant can be found in sand savannas, open woods and glades, prairies and rocky soils.[4]
All tissues of this plant are toxic (containing rotenone), and should not be eaten by people or livestock. Crushed stems were previously used as a fish poison.[10]
While ranked as secure rangewide by NatureServe,[1] T. virginiana has been listed as an endangered species in Canada under Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act since 2003.[11] Only two populations exist within black oak savanna and black oak woodland in Ontario.[11]
According to James Mooney, Cherokee Indian women used to wash their hair in a decoction made from its roots to prevent their hair from breaking or falling out.[12]
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