Galactia mollis Michx.

Soft Milk Pea

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Soft Milk Pea is a native perennial herbaceous twining vine in the Bean family (Fabaceae). It is native to the southern third of Alabama. Soft Milk Pea occurs in sandhills, in scrub oak woods, in xeric sandy longleaf pine woods, and on dry, sandy roadsides. It is a perennial from a tap root. Stems are trailing or climbing by twining, green in color, and densely pubescent with spreading or deflexed hairs. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, and trifoliate. The leaflets are oblong to elliptic in outline, entire, and pubescent on both surfaces. Flowers are produced in erect, stout, axillary pseudoracemes that are much longer than the subtending leaf. Each inflorescence has 6-10 flowers confined to the upper half of the raceme. Flowers are papilionaceous, and pink to rose-purple in color. The calyx has 5 densely pubescent lobes. The fruit is a straight, densely pubescent legume with 7-12 seed.--A. Diamond

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Native

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