''Neptunia lutea'', commonly called the yellow-puff,
is an herbaceous plant in the legume family (
). It is native to the
United States, where it is primarily found in the
South Central region, extending eastward into the Blackland Prairies of
Alabama and
Mississippi.
Its natural habitat is in open areas such as prairies and savannas.
It is tolerant of disturbed soil.
Description
''Neptunia lutea'' is a trailing, vine-like
perennial. Its stems are covered with soft spines, but is not nearly as prickly as the similar-looking ''
Mimosa nuttallii
''Mimosa nuttallii'', the Nuttall's sensitive-briar, catclaw brier, or sensitive brier, is an herbaceous perennial legume in the subfamily Mimosoideae native to the central United States. It has a trailing semi-woody vine covered with small recu ...
''.
The sprawling stems of this plant branch frequently, with each branch growing as long as 5 ft.
Leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are alternate and stalked, bipinnate, looking much like tiny fern
fronds. The
flowers are tiny and arranged in a slightly elongated, congested bundle (inflorescence) containing 30-60 flowers each. The unopened bud clusters look much like green bramble fruits. Each individual flower has five minute petals and ten
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s. When the flowers open, the inflorescence looks like a puffy yellow ball, with usually only the long yellow stamens visible. The inflorescence rests solitary at the end of a slender stalk.
Like some ''
Mimosa'', the leaves of this plant exhibit
rapid plant movement. They will close upon touch, as well as at night and during periods of cloudy weather.
File:Neptunia lutea.jpg, Detail of flowering head
References
* Ajilvsgi, Geyata. ''Wildflowers of Texas''. Shearer Publishing, revised edition 2003.
lutea
{{Mimosoideae-stub