Rhynchosia latifolia Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray (snout bean)

Pl. 406 a–c; Map 1798

Stems 30–150 cm long, trailing or climbing, twining, branched. Leaves pinnately trifoliate, the petiole 1.5–5.0 cm long. Stipules 2–5 mm long, lanceolate, tapered at the tip, hairy. Leaflets 2.0–7.5 cm long, 1.5–7.0 cm wide. Inflorescences elongate, relatively open racemes 5–18 cm long, longer than the subtending leaves, with mostly 10–20 flowers, the main stalk 5–20 mm long, the flower stalks 1–3 mm long. Calyces 10–14 mm long, the tube 1–3 mm long, the lobes 8–11 mm long. Corollas 8–13 mm long, yellow to orangish yellow, the banner hairy on the outer surface. Filaments with the fused portion 7–8 mm long, the free portion 2–3 mm long. Fruits 15–20 mm long, 7–9 mm wide. 2n=22. June–September.

Scattered in the Ozark and Mississippi Lowlands divisions (Oklahoma and Texas east to Tennessee and Mississippi). Glades, savannas, dry upland forests, and sand prairies; also cemeteries, roadsides, and open, sandy, disturbed areas.

For a discussion of difficulties in distinguishing some plants of R. difformis from this species, see the treatment of R. difformis.