| Author | L. | |
| Distribution | Scattered in the eastern half of the state.
Native of South America; in N.A. cultivated in the southern states and locally escaped. | |
| Abundance | Rare. Quite heavily cultivated as a crop in the northern Coastal Plain in NC. | |
| Habitat | Roadsides, waste areas, fallow fields. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting July-October. | |
| Identification | This is a very unusual plant in that the bright yellow flowers are produced above ground, but it fruits below ground. The stems grow about a foot tall, the leaves divided into 3 or 5 elliptical, blunt leaflets. After flowering, a branch with a flower droops to the ground, such that the legume -- with the familiar 2-3 locules -- develops underground. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | | |
| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
