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The tips of the stems of goat's-rue give rise to 2-3" long racemes of buds and flowers. The unmistakable, bicolored pea-like flowers are about 1/2-3/4" wide and long, creamy white or yellowish on the vertical petal (the "standard") and rosy-pink on the lateral wings and the keel. (A total of five petals.) The flowers consist of a short, tubular calyx with five teeth, five petals in a pea-like configuration, 10 stamens (nine with fused filaments, one free from its midpoint) with small yellow anthers, and a single pistil with a tiny terminal stigma. Both stamens and pistil are enclosed by the keel. The seedpods are 1.5-3" long, cylindrical, slightly flattened beans spreading laterally from the flower spike; these, too, are (densely) silky-hairy. The seedpods are initially light green but turn brown with maturity. They split along the symmetry plane of the seedpod and the valves develop a spiral curl to release the seeds. Goat's-rue prefers sandy habitats. The long, woody roots contain rotenone, a compound that is toxic to fish and insects; it inhibits ATP production and disrupts mitochondrial function by blocking the electron transport chain. It would not be a good idea to suck on or ingest the roots of goat's-rue.

Tephrosia

Tephrosia virginiana

goat's-rue [Blooms: Jun-Jul]