Goat-rue

Tephrosia virginiana

''Tephrosia virginiana'', also known as goat-rue, goat's rue, catgut, rabbit pea, and Virginia tephrosia, is a perennial dicot in family Fabaceae.
Tephrosia virginiana This is a picture of Tephrosia virginiana  on the North Tract of the Patuxent Research Refuge near Fort Meade, Maryland. Geotagged,Spring,Tephrosia virginiana,United States

Appearance

This subshrub has alternate compound leaves. Its leaves are imparipinnate, with relatively wide pinnae. All parts of the plant are pubescent giving it a silvery, hoary appearance. The terminal, compact racemes of cream and deep pink flowers bloom May to August.

Distribution

This plant prefers acidic soils, in part to full sun. It grows throughout the Midwest, New England and southeastern United States.

Habitat

Not easy to propagate, this plant can be found in sand savannas, open woods and glades, prairies and rocky soils.

Uses

All tissues of this plant are toxic, and should not be eaten by people or livestock. Crushed stems were previously used as a fish poison.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderFabales
FamilyFabaceae
GenusTephrosia
SpeciesT. virginiana