I got this several months back as a mystery cutting, it's been twining away happy as a lark, had no idea what it was and I knew I needed a flower for an ID since the leaves look like just about any other legume. Yesterday I finally found a flower, just these tiny little snail like flowers about the size of a dime. I think they only last one day and I didn't notice a perfume from them at all. Heck it was only one little flower maybe it might if it has several...I don't know I will be a patient person, there pretty anyway just the same.
Can you help me ID my new little friend?

It is genus Strophostyles either umbellata or helvola. I have never been able to determine exactly how to tell them apart visually. They are almost identical except, umbellata is perennial and helvola is an annual.

http://www.alabamaplants.com/P...
http://www.missouriplants.com/...

Hummm....interesting
At this point I don't know either, will take a bit of digging to get to the bottom of this mystery.
I thank you so much you have been ever so helpful horntoad

Wow your right they are really close with exception to the flower color they both look remerkably close.

Anyone else want to take a look and see what they think?

I have been digging on this one for a while now and have not found a good answer. The only visible difference I have come-up with has to do with the subtending bract, but have not found a satisfactory explanation or diagram of the difference. Mine comes back every year but it seeds profusely, so I can't say for sure if it is perennial or an annual that is reseeding.

Yes I can see how that could become an issue it being a great re-seeder.

Makes it hard to figure out annual from perennial? Does yours bloom in big sprees or just here and there?
Do you notice if it is fragrant at all? Mine hates to be trained, the growth tips sometimes just shrivel up from being redirected (not pulled, pinched, or bent) just directed and right now it seems like it is growing in a hurry all of a sudden, product of heat and rain I am sure.

It even says in one of those links, the leaf difference isn't always an indicator, it can have a few different types of leaves...which doesn't help our cause any.

First thing I said was OH that's not mine look at those leaves, then as you read it says...surprise!!

"The leaves of the plant can be somewhat variable. As you may notice, the leaves in the first picture above are quite diffrent from the leaves in the second picture"

Oh thanks loads there Mr. know-it-all...LOL Just spin my dizzy and tell me I'm drunk.

Time, it's all gonna take time and maybe a cutting sent to the department of AG...LOL

Mine produces a few isolated flowers early in the summer, but starts blooming more profusely around August. Strophostyles leiosperma has been bloom the last month also. Strophostyles leiosperma looks identical to the other two, but much smaller, so it is easy to distinguish.
Here is a pic of S. leisosperma and my unidentified one to show the difference in size.



The picture below is of the subtending bract I mentioned as the only way to tell umbellata and helvola apart. But I have found nothing to explain how this part is different in the two plants.

Compare the bracts on the Southeastern Flora site, you can see the difference ..

http://www.southeasternflora.c...

http://www.southeasternflora.c...

Ok so I got impatient and decided to send my pic to any email address I could find on the Missouri website to try and get an answer...still didn't and will forward more pics to him if it ever stops raining here long enough in my effort for a real ID. The things we will do to get a name...Uggg


Your message and photo made its way to me. The flowers that you show do indeed look like a species of Strophostyles. The large banner petal (the top half of the flower), the twisted keel (the central portion of the flower), and the petal color (light pink fading to light yellow) are all characteristic of the genus. The genus also has a characteristc inflorescence in which the small cluster of lfowers is at the tip of a relatively long stalk, but that can't be seen from your image. Beyond that, I would need more information or to see more of the plant. There are two (of the three) Missouri species that have flowers similar to those you show. The easiest difference between them is that Strophostyles helvula has at least some of the leaves with the pair of lateral leaflets lobed (with a pair of shallow shoulders one one side toward the base or deeper lobes), whereas S. umbellata has all of the leaflets unlobed. I was at Creve Coeur County Park last week and Strophostyles helvula is very common there this year, especially along Little Creve Coeur Lake, which is the marsh that was cut off from the rest of the park by the Page Avenue Extension.



Best Wishes,

Pat, I sent an e-mail to "Mr. Smarty Plants" at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, about how to tell them apart and they answered here.

http://www.wildflower.org/expe...

Horntoad said:Pat, I sent an e-mail to "Mr. Smarty Plants" at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, about how to tell them apart and they answered here.

http://www.wildflower.org/expe...

I just went out and got a few ripe seed pods off the vine in case it's an annual here in our summer heat.
It flushed with huge amount of flowers, it was amazing...the butterflies just love this plant.
Thanks for the link it appears I have S. Umbellata...hooray a name

Thanks for all the help

We could use y'alls lovely photo's for the database.

http://garden.org/plants/searc...

Boy was I off base. I thought you had a Snail Vine

http://toptropicals.com/catalo...

Moonhowl said:Boy was I off base. I thought you had a Snail Vine

That was my first thought when I saw the thumbnail.

I reckon there is still lots of room for learning... Now I need to go do a "Gee what's different" comparison...glad to know I was in such good company...