紫穗槐 zi sui huai

Deciduous shrubs, 1-4 m tall. Stems pubescent, glabres­cent. Leaves 10-15 cm; stipules bristlelike; petiole 1-2 cm; leaflets 11-25, ovate to elliptic, 1-4 × 0.6-2 cm, abaxially white puberulent, adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent, black glandular-dotted, base broadly cuneate or rounded, apex acute, obtuse, or retuse, with a shortly curved spinose tip. Racemes 1 to many, terminal or subterminal, 7-15 cm, densely pubescent; bracts 3-4 mm. Calyx 2-3 mm; teeth triangular, shorter than tube. Standard purple, obcordate, ca. 6 mm; wings and keel absent. Style puberulent. Legume dark brown, oblong, curved, 6-10 × 2-3 mm, apex beaked, strongly glandular-dotted, 1-seeded. Seed lustrous, reniform, ca. 5 mm, curved upward. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep.

Sandy banks of ravines, cultivated or escaped. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Zhejiang [native to North America; widely introduced in N Asia and Europe].

This is a variable species with many synonyms and described varieties in North America. It is regarded as a noxious weed in some parts of the United States.