''Tephrosia mysteriosa'', commonly known as sandhill tippitoes, is a species of

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 ...

first described by Kris DeLaney in 2010. It grows on

sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and b ...

s and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Lake Wales and Mount Dora Ridges of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. DeLaney collected the type specimen on August 3, 2006, in Carter Creek Preserve,

Highlands County, Florida Highlands County is a county located in the Florida Heartland region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 101,235. Its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital ...

. Each stem of the specimen has up to 9–13 leaflets.

Description

The stems of ''Tephrosia mysteriosa'' are prostrate, covered with

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

s (

indumentum In biology, an indumentum (Latin, literally: "garment") is a covering of trichomes (fine "hairs") on a plant or of bristles (rarely scales) of an insect. Plants The indumentum on plants can have a wide variety of functions, including as ...

), and tawny. There are typically 7–11 leaflets per stem; these are approximately long and wide. The leaflets are olive green and elliptical, with strigose hairs on the underside. ''T. mysteriosa'' blooms from May to October, with its red buds opening to flowers that are white to light pink in color.

References

mysteriosa Endemic flora of Florida Plants described in 2010 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Millettieae-stub