RUGEL’S HOARYPEA (Tephrosia rugelii)
WHAT FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT IS BLOOMING TODAY?: RUGEL’S HOARYPEA (Tephrosia rugelii)
Endemic.
This is Tephrosia spp., likely rugelii
When I first saw this diminutive wildflower I thought it was some sort of milkpea. Upon closer inspection of the photo on the computer I saw points at the end of the leaves and determined it to be Tephrosia spp. (the second species of this genus to grace my garden) Tephrosia is interesting in that the flowers change colors at times appearing white, pink and even a deep red.
Native American Ethnobotany for this genus: http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Tephrosia
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What Florida Native Plant Is Blooming Today?™ 
Is this a rebloom?
My tephrosia blooms in May.
I have the more common ‘goat’s rue’.
I think that different species bloom at different times. The first I saw this species bloom was June. It has showed a flower or two since then and is still blooming in Aug. but not a prolific bloomer. Apparently it was lying dormant as I never saw this species prior to 2013 but there is a nice showing of it throughout a natural area at the back of my property.
I also have T. florida which began blooming in april and seems to take the summer off. 🙂
I checked the ISB atlas and it doesn’t seem like goat’s rue is common in my county (Osceola). No specimens have been collected here, furthest south seems to be orange county.
Thanks for stopping by.