kids encyclopedia robot

Fringeleaf necklacepod facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Sophora stenophylla
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
(unranked):
(unranked):
(unranked):
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
S. stenophylla
Binomial name
Sophora stenophylla

Sophora stenophylla, the fringeleaf necklacepod, or silvery sophora, is a perennial plant in the legume family (Fabaceae) found in the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region of the southwestern United States.

Description

Growth pattern

It is a perennial plant that grows 4 to 16 inches (100 to 410 mm) tall. Its lacy leaves and blue to purple flowers make it very distinctive in its communities. It spreads by underground roots.

Leaves and stems

It has alternate, lacy, compound pinnate leaves with linear leaflets that are covered in dense, soft, and silvery hairs.

Inflorescence and fruit

It blooms from April to May. The terminal stalks bear 12–39 blue to purple, pea-shaped flowers. Seed pods have short, stiff hairs and 1–5 seeds.

Habitat and range

It can be found in sandy soils in blackbrush scrub, pinyon-juniper woodland, and ponderosa pine forest communities in southern Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Ecological and human interactions

Its foliage and seeds are toxic to livestock in large amounts.

kids search engine
Fringeleaf necklacepod Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.