木本苜蓿 mu ben mu xu

Rhodusia arborea (Linnaeus) Vassilczenko.

Shrubs, 1-2(-4) m, pale yellow sericeous; bark split longi­tudinally. Stems erect, terete. Stipules narrowly triangular, 5-8 mm, acute, entire; petioles 2-4 cm; leaflets obovate to obcor­date, 10-18 × 8-14 mm, sericeous abaxially, glabrous adaxially, lateral veins 5-7 pairs, base broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse or retuse. Flowers 6-10 scattered in racemes, 2-2.5 cm; peduncles axillary, 3-5 cm, densely silky; bracts ca. 2 mm; pedicels ca. 5 mm. Corolla orange, 12-15 mm. Ovary stipitate; ovules 12-15. Legume loosely coiled in 0.5-1.5 spirals, 12-15 mm in diam., center hollow, appressed pubescent, veins radially reticulate, netted in external circle. Seed reniform, ca. 4 mm. Fl. May.

Cultivated as an ornamental. Hebei, Jiangsu [native to the Medi­terranean region].