Bean family (Fabaceae) Description: This perennial plant is ½–2'
tall, branching occasionally. The hairy stems are sprawling or
erect. The alternate compound leaves are trifoliate. The lower
compound leaves have long hairy petioles, while the upper leaves
have short petioles or they are sessile. The leaflets are up to
2" long and ¾" across. They are oval-ovate or slightly obovate;
sometimes they are a little broader below the middle. Their
margins are smooth and ciliate and their tips are blunt. Toward
the middle of the upper surface of each leaflet, there is
usually a chevron that is white or light green. The leaflets are
sessile and lack petioles of their own. At the base of each
compound leaf, there is a pair of ovate stipules up to ½" long.
The upper stems terminate in flowerheads that are spheroid or
ovoid. Usually there are 1-3 leaflets immediately beneath each
flowerhead, as well as several green bracts with tips that
abruptly taper to a slender tip. Each flowerhead is about 1"
across and consists of n