Allegheny Mountain Goldenbanner

Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner
soft bush pea

More info for the terms: fruit, herb

Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner is a native, rhizomatous, perennial herb
with moderately branched, erect stems that grow 1.0 to 4.9 feet (0.3-1.5 m)
tall. The racemes are terminal. The fruit is a legume about 1.6 to 2.8 inches
(4-7 cm) long [7,10,16,22]. Thermopsis spp. generally have deep, woody,
creeping rhizomes [1]. In Saskatchewan, prairie thermopsis (T.
rhombifolia) roots were 0.1 to 0.2 inch (0.3-0.5 cm) in diameter and 2.6
to 5.6 feet (0.8-1.7 m) deep [5]. Thermopsis spp. are drought resistant
[1].

Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner occurs from southern Virginia south to
northern Georgia. The typical variety is more common in the Piedmont,
and T. m. var. fraxinifolia occurs primarily in the Appalachian Mountains [10].

More info for the terms: fire regime, seed

Thermopsis spp. of the western United States resist fire by sprouting
from rhizomes [3,13]. Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner probably responds
similarly, and buried seed may germinate after fire.

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

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More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

Hemicryptophyte

Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner occurs on moist and dry sites in upland
areas of the Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains [10]. It occurs on dry slopes,
ridges, and roadsides [7,10,14,16,21]. Thermopsis mollis var.
fraxinifolia occurs up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m) elevation [10].

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

FRES14 Oak-pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory

Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner is probably top-killed by fire.

Thermopsis spp. contain quinolizidine alkaloids which discourage
browsing by wildlife and livestock [1].

Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner occurs in open woods and clearings [14,16,22]. No
information was available on associated plant species.

More info for the term: forb

Forb

GA NC SC TN VA

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The typical variety flowers April through May and fruits ripen June
through August. Thermopsis mollis var. fraxinifolia flowers May through
July and fruits July through August [10,16].

More info for the terms: cover, density, low-severity fire

Information on the response of Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner to fire
is lacking in the literature. Santa Ynez false lupine sprouted after
a prescibed fire in southern California, and the fire stimulated
germination of seeds [3]. One year after a high-severity August fire
in Alberta, there was no statistically significant difference in
percent cover of prairie thermopsis on burned and unburned sites [13].
One year after a low-severity fire in Colorado, there was no statistically
significant difference in percent cover or density of spreading thermopsis (T.
divaricarpa) on burned and unburned sites [23].

More info for the terms: herb, rhizome

Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

More info for the terms: scarification, seed

Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner regenerates vegetatively and by seed.
Thermopsis spp. spread by underground rhizomes and form broad patches [1,5].
In California, the seeds of Santa Ynez false lupine (T. macrophylla var.
agina) required scarification for laboratory germination [3].

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Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner is probably intermediate in shade tolerance.
It colonizes roadsides but also occurs on shady slopes [10].

Thermopsis fraxinifolia (Torr. & Gray) Isely [10]

The currently accepted scientific name for Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner
is Thermopsis mollis (Michx.) M. A. Curtis (Fabaceae) [7,10,16,22].

The following two varities are recognized:

Thermopsis mollis var. mollis
Thermopsis mollis var. fraxinifolia (Torr. & Gray) Isely [10]

Thermopsis spp. of the western United States have been used for erosion
control and rehabilitation of disturbed sites [1,4].

Perennial, Herbs, Plants with rhizomes or suckers, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems or branches arching, spreading or decumbent, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules green, triangulate to lanceolate or foliaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves palmately 2-3 foliate, Leaves odd pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 3, Leaves hairy on one or both surfaces, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence terminal, Bracts conspicuously present, Flowers zygomorphic, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Corolla papilionaceous, Petals clawed, Petals orange or yellow, Banner petal suborbicular, broadly rounded, Wing petals narrow, oblanceolate to oblong, Wing petals auriculate, Wing tips obtuse or rounded, Keel petals auriculate, spurred, or gibbous, Keel tips obtuse or rounded, not beaked, Stamens 9-10, Stamens completely free, separate, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Style persistent in fruit, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit compressed between seeds, Fruit hairy, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded i n outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

Thermopsis mollis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner, soft bush pea, and soft-haired thermopsis. It is native to the southeastern United States from southern Virginia to northern Georgia.

This plant is a rhizomatous perennial herb with erect, branching stems growing up to 1.5 meters tall. The inflorescence is a raceme at the top of the stem. The fruit is a legume pod up to 7 centimeters long. The plant reproduces by seed and by sprouting from its woody rhizome.

This plant grows in the Appalachian Mountains and the Piedmont uplands.