Galactia regularis (L.) Britt., Stearns, & Poggenb., downy milkpea. Perennial vine, twining, taprooted with slender, branched caudex, not rosetted, several–stemmed at base, trailing over ground and neighboring vegetation; shoots with only cauline leaves, foliage on long, flexible branches having internode > leaf, suedelike with soft hairs on all structures.
Stems cylindric, to 2 mm diameter, tough, internodes to 85 mm long, soft short–hairy, aging purplish red on lower stems.
Leaves helically alternate, pinnately 3–foliolate, petiolate with pulvinus, with stipules; stipules 2, on swelling below pulvinus, acuminate, 1—2.4 mm long, green often aging red, short–hairy; petiole pulvinus 2—2.5 mm long, green, above pulvinus shallowly channeled, to 25 mm long, tough, green, short–hairy, lacking gland at top; rachis not channeled, to 8 mm long; stipel subtending petiolule on upper side 1 and 2 (terminal leaflet), fingerlike, 0.3—0.5 mm, green, short–hairy; petiolule pulvinus 1.5—1.8 mm long, short–hairy; blades of leaflets broadly elliptic to roundish ovate, 17—50 × 9—34 mm, terminal > lateral, subcordate at base, entire, short–notched with short point (extension of midrib) at tip, pinnately veined with principal veins somewhat raised on lower surface, upper surface short–villous, lower surface paler, short–villous and villous with long hairs to 0.8 mm long and somewhat appressed.
Inflorescence racemes, axillary, 2—several of different ages, the initial raceme ascending or widely spreading, to 140 mm long and > leaf, especially lower nodes with 2—3 flowers of different ages, often just 1 flower open on raceme per day, bracteate, soft short–hairy; peduncle pulvinus ca. 1 mm long axis above pulvinus cylindric, green, with the lowest node to 65 mm, short–hairy with downward–pointing hairs; bractlet subtending pedicel triangular, 1 mm long; pedicel cylindric, 2—3.5 mm long not increasing in fruit, green, short–hairy, with a pair of opposite bracteoles at top, bracteole ovate, 1 mm long, green, raised on midvein, short–hairy.
Flower bisexual, bilateral, pealike (papilionaceous), ca. 4 mm across; receptacle producing nectar surrounding pistil; calyx 4–lobed, ca. 5.5 mm long, green, soft short–hairy on outer surface; tube funnel–shaped, ca. 2.5 mm long; lobes unequal, upper lobe triangular–ovate, ca. 3 × 1.5 mm, pinched at tip, lateral 1 lobes triangular, ca. 2.5 × 1 mm, half next to keel lacking hairs, lower lobe triangular, ca. 3 × 1 mm, rounded on back, inner surface of lobes with appressed minute hairs; petals 5, ± 8 mm long, clawed; banner claw wedge–shaped, 1 × 0.7 mm, reddish, limb obovate, ± 7 × 4 mm, pink and light pink–purple, truncate at base; wings 2, claws slender, ca. 2.2 mm long, white, limbs obovate, 5.5—6 × 2 mm, light pink–purple with minute purple–red dots, having white, backward–pointing basal lobe; keels of 2 petals partially fused from limb midpoint on lower edge to near tip, claws slender, ca. 2 mm long, white, limbs hatchet–shaped, white to midpoint to light pink–purple at tip; stamens 10, diadelphous (9 fused and 1 free), included in keel; filament sheet ca. 4.5 mm long, white, free portions alternating 2 and 2.5 mm long, white; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, 0.6—0.65 mm long, light yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen pale light yellow; pistil 1, 7.5—8 mm long, included in keel; ovary superior, oblanceolate–linear flattened side–to–side, ca. 4 × 0.5 mm, green, densely covered with soft, straight, upward–pointing short–hairs, 1–chambered with to 7 ovules attached to upper side; style shallowly curved upward, light green, with minute terminal stigma.
Fruit pod (legume), dehiscent by 2 valves, in range mostly 3—5–seeded, ± cylindric and straight slightly bulging at seeds, in range 22—36 × 4—5.2 mm, short–hairy with hairs of various lengths.
Seed broadly ellipsoid to somewhat kidney–shaped, 3—3.6 × 2.3—2.7 mm, mottled dark brown and light brown, solid dark brown around median hilum, seed coat hard and smooth.
A. C. Gibson