''Orbexilum'', commonly called leather-root, is a genus of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s in the
legume
Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...
family (
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
). They are native to North America, where they are found in the United States and Mexico, south to
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
.
This genus can be distinguished from other genera in the Psoraleeae by its "thick glabrous pod walls that are distinctively rugose and by
calyx that is scarcely accrescent."
Taxonomy
The genus was described by
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...
in 1832, with the type species ''O. latifolia'', moved from ''
Psoralea
''Psoralea'' is a genus in the legume family (Fabaceae) with 111 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs native to southern and eastern Africa, ranging from Kenya to South Africa. In South Africa they are commonly referred to as fountainbush (English ...
''.
(''O. latifolia'' is now considered a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
of ''O. onobrychis''.
) Rafinesque differentiated ''Orbexilum'' from ''Psoralea'' largely on the basis of features of the
calyx.
Species
''Orbexilum'' comprises the following species:
* ''
Orbexilum chiapasanum''
B.L.Turner
* ''
Orbexilum lupinellus''
(Michx.) Isely[
* †'' Orbexilum macrophyllum'' (Rowlee) Rydb. – bigleaf scurfpea]
Notes
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile
*
*
Fabaceae genera
Flora of Northern America
{{Faboideae-stub