java-bean

This is Senna obtusifolia of the family Fabaceae:

S. obtusifolia is a native of the United States and is found throughout the eastern states as far north as Wisconsin and New York.  According to Wikipedia, this plant is most celebrated in China, where it has a long history in Chinese medicine as a laxative.  There is no mention of where or how it came by the name java-bean (it also bears the monikers coffeeweed and coffee pod).  I assume that may produce a tea similar in character to coffee, though with its use as a laxative in Chinese medicine, I will not be trying this any time soon.

This particular plant was found along state road 51, south of Opelika, AL in September of 2011.

stiff ticktrefoil

This is an example of Desmodium obtusum in the family Fabaceae:

Taken Sept. 23, 2011 south of Opelika, AL on State Road 51, D. obtusum is native to North America.  Desmodium spp. is found through out the United States and there are over 70 species in this genus.  According to Wikipedia, however, the genus is not well defined and has a tendency to gain and lose members.  Regardless of the particulars of which plant is assigned to which species, Desmodium spp. is finding use in agriculture as a natural source of bug repellant and weed killer. 

large yellow vetch

Here is Vicia grandiflora of the family Fabaceae:

This particular plant was found along highway 49, north of Yazoo City in the Mississippi Delta.  The photo was made on April 4th 2010. 

sidebreak pencilflower

Here is Stylosanthes biflora of the family Fabaceae:

This plant was found on the Brandon property in May of 2009.  This plant is native to the United States and found throughout the Southeast and north through the Midwest.  Its common name is much more impressive than the plant itself, though I am not sure how it came to be called so. 

If you look close, on the left edge of this flower there is a tiny creature that looks something like a cartoon monster.

kudzu

Here is Pueraria montana of the family Fabaceae:

This particular flower was photographed August 28, 2011 in Opelika, Alabama.  There are a number of species in the genus Pueraria but these are closely related and most not readily distinguished from one another.  These species all answer to the name kudzu.  As most who've been in the southeast will know, is everywhere, it was introduced from Asia as a means to control erosion and it grows like wildfire, enveloping everything. 

As it is a member of the pea family, Pueraria spp. produces pods, hairy ones.  These dangle below the stem that supports the cluster of flowers, growing ever longer, pictured below:

Despite the pestilent nature of this plant, the blooms are beautiful and have a sweet, subtle smell similar to honey suckle, the root is rich in starch and serves as an excellent grazing plant for 3 or 4 years.  There may even be medicinal properties hiding in the plant, however, most folks just want to know how to get rid of it.  Wikipedia offers quite a number of ways to control the plant, the worst being devised by a sixteen year old Jacob Schindler, which involves disgorging precious helium into the ground.

I know this is a post about plants, but most folks don't realize that helium is a precious and limited resource.  The New York Times reported in 1997 on the dismantling of the Federal Helium reserves sounding the warnings for the physics community but haven't written anything since.  The most recent news is from Cleveland, sounding the warning bells a little over a month ago: we're running out.

red clover

Here is Trifolium pratense in the family of fabaceae:

This example of red clover was captured in Illinois, along side an on ramp to I-57 on June 13, 2009.  It was a rather large patch of all sorts of flowers and I first took this to be Persian clover, which I have already posted, but the size of the plant wasn't quite the same.  I took a few pictures, as an afterthought, to look more closely later and too my surprise, it was a different species. 

This plant was introduced to the North American continent from Europe and has been exceedingly successful.  It can be found throughout the Lower 48, Alaska, Greenland and above the Arctic circle in Canada.  It has been proclaimed the State Flower of Vermont.  It has avoided designation as a noxious plant, but more than that, attained to the status of Wetland Indicator. 

I suppose T. pratense is a story of an immigrant plant that we can all admire and hold up to our friends in the Plant Kingdom as an example of how an invasive species should behave.

crown vetch

This is the flower Securigera varia in the family of fabaceae:

I found this plant in mid June 2009 along I-57 somewhere between Cairo and Chicago.  This is not a native plant, however, it has been quite successful and can be found throughout the lower 48, Hawaii and the southern stretch of Canada from ocean to ocean. 

thicket bean

Here is the vine Phaseolus polystachios of the family fabaceae:

This was taken at Mule Jail on July 19, 2007.  This plant is native to the lower United States.  This plant carries the name wild kidney bean and is listed as special concern to the state of Connecticut.  From the USDA site, there seems to be a variant of P. polystachios that is specific to the Bible belt states.  The exact distinguishing features that differentiates these variants in unknown to me.

groundnut

Here is the Apios americana of the family fabaceae:

I found this plant on the side of Mule Jail road by South Lake.  This vine has a raceme flowering arrangement and is found throughout the Midwest and Eastern seaboard.  A. americana blooms between June and August; this specimen was taken the 7th of September.

rabbit-foot clover

This plant is Trifolium arvense in the fabaceae family:

I found this specimen on a blustery day in May of 2009.  Quite a few covering the side of the road on hwy 49 between Indianola and Yazoo.  The constant wind made photographing this little plant rather difficult.

T. arvense an invasive species that has prospered on the N. American continent making its way up both coastlines into Canada.  Its flower blooms in a head arrangement.

slender lespedeza

An example of Lespedeza virginica in the pea family, fabaceae:

Found on the back road to my parents house in Brandon Mississippi, this plant was host to a spider who was tending an egg sack and had turned the plant into a honeybee death trap as illustrated here.  In the photo above you can see the fibers laid by the nefarious arachnid.  As for L. virginica, it is a native of the United States and found as far north as Canadia.  Classified as a herb with the raceme flower arrangement, the plant shown here was about 4 and a half feet tall (~ 1.4 metres for thems what cares) and somewhat past is flowering prime.

butterfly pea

here is clitoria mariana of the fabaceae family:

this flower is as most of fabaceae, a raceme arrangement. this photograph was taken at Chapel Hill in south Hinds county here in Mississippi on September 15, 2007. a very pretty flower to come across in the wild.

spotted burclover

ere is medicago arabica another from the family of fabaceae:

again, the flower arrangement is that of raceme. this is a small flower, roughly half the size of a dime. the plant that grows this particular organ is a clover that has 3 leaves, typically, each with a crimson spot in the middle. it forms a pretty clump of color on the ground.

bigpod sesbania

here is sesbania herbacea of the family fabaceae:

s. herbacea's flower arrangement is that of raceme, which is proving a popular choice among the flowers i photograph. this example was found on the banks of the Pearl River here in Jackson, MS and yes, that is a sandy beach it is growing in. this was taken in September of '06 on a cloudy day.

white-flowered vetch

here is vicia caroliniana of the family fabaceae:

native to the lower 48, this particular plant was found in the woods at Mule Jail. this vine is a rather pretty plant. i have not observed the same tendency as its purple cousin to bunch up and produce copious amounts of flower.

pink fuzzybean

here is strophostyles umbellata of the family fabaceae:

this vine is native to the lower 48. this picture was taken on the banks of the Pearl River, about a mile south of the Ross-Barnett on September 5th, 2006 3 minutes before 8:00 p.m.

black locust

here is robinia pseudoacacia in the family fabaceae:

a pea tree, tee-hee. this picture was taken at Chapel Hill in south Hinds County of Mississippi, early spring. r. pseudoacacia is a native of North America, short in stature, but with beautiful blooms. its fruit, while not poisonous per se, is not palatable for humans.

crimson clover (over and over?)

here be trifolium incarnatum of the family fabaceae:

another pea before its pod. t. incarnatum has been introduce to North America. anther spring bloom, this plant carpets the sides of the highways across the south, if spared the mowers blade. this picture was taken in March of 2007, at the High Street/I-55 interchange.

narrow leaf vetch

This is Vicia Americana in the family fabaceae:

This plant is native to North America. a vine, this bloom can be found all around in the early spring, and the plant remains until fall. Common, but quite pretty, the flower usually is a purplish pink, though I've see some flowers with a violet hue. V. Americana grows thickly along the streets of Jackson, at least, until the mowers have their way.

The above photo was taken in downtown Jackson, January of 2007.

patridge pea

this is chamaecrista fasciculata of the family fabaceae:

c. fasciculata is a native plant found throughout the South and the Midwest. i've observed it growing mostly in sand or very sandy soils surrounded by woods. around the Jackson area c. fasciculata seems to begin to bloom late August and September. it is a pretty flower that stands out, especially when clustered. this flower was photographed at Chapel Hill in south Hinds County.