About Tephrosia hispidula (Michx.) Pers.
Tephrosia hispidula (Michx.) Pers. has stems that grow between decumbent and erect, reaching a maximum length of 50 cm (20 in). Its leaves are shaped from narrowly elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, with bicolored leaf blades 9 to 20 cm (3.5 to 7.9 in) long. The upper surface of the leaf blades ranges from hairless (glabrous) to densely covered in fine hairs (pubescent), while the lower surface ranges from sparsely to densely pubescent. Inflorescences grow opposite the leaves, and are 5 to 15 cm (2.0 to 5.9 in) long. They have either a flattened peduncle, or terete, narrowly lanceolate to linear bracts. The corolla is initially white to yellow, and changes to reddish as it ages. When mature legumes form, they are 3 to 4.2 cm (1.2 to 1.7 in) long, with sparse to moderate pubescence, and their trichomes are at least 0.6 mm (0.024 in) long. This species is endemic to the southeastern United States, with a range extending from Virginia south to Florida and west to Louisiana. It grows in pine savannas, sandhills, hardwood swamps, wiregrass woodlands, and along riverbanks.
