''Pediomelum subacaule'' is a species of flowering plant in the
legume family known by the common names Nashville breadroot and whiterim scurfpea. It is native to a small area of Eastern North America, only being found in limestone
cedar glades
A calcareous glade is a type of ecological community (ecology), community that is found in the central Eastern United States. Calcareous glade (geography), glades occur where bedrock such as limestone occurs near or at the surface, and have very ...
of the
Interior Low Plateau
The Interior Low Plateaus are a physiographic region in eastern United States. It consists of a diverse landscape that extends from north Alabama across central Tennessee and Kentucky into southern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Its natural communi ...
and
Ridge and Valley
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...
ecoregions of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
This species is a
geophyte
A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy
(generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...
, and is well adapted to the desert-like conditions of flat limestone glades. The plants flower in April and set seed in May, then quickly die back in summer, beginning new growth when the cool temperatures of fall set in. This life cycle is in harmony with the availability of water in the harsh cedar glade environment, which is often saturated with water in the winter and spring but extremely hot and dry during the summer.
References
Psoraleeae
{{Faboideae-stub