Weed Information: Aeschynomene indica (jointvetch, Indian)
Back to Plant List

Aeschynomene indica (jointvetch, Indian)

Family: Fabaceae

Description

The leaflets folding together when touched. Very similar to Aeschynomene virginica (northern jointvetch) but with the flowers, leaflets, and fruit stem (from the point of the attachment of the petals to the base of the fruit), less than one cm. long. The pod breaking into numerous one-seeded segments at maturity.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow
  • Purple
  • Red-purple
  • White
  • Multi-colored
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary racemes
  • Panicle
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
  • United > 75% of length
Petal Tip
  • Bilobed
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers strongly irregular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • United > 75% of length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 10 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments united, diadelphous

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 1 carpel
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 1-celled
  • Legume
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
  • 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
  • 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
  • 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
  • 5.0 cm (2.0 inches)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Compound even pinnate > 9 leaflets
Stipules
  • Foliaceous < 2 mm (< .08 inch) long
  • Foliaceous 2-4 mm (.08 - .16 in) long
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Oblique
  • Rounded
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Semi-aquatic
  • Seasonally saturated
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Louisiana
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Oklahoma
Other
  • Puerto Rico

  • More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 245
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 8 AESIN
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 197
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
Back to Plant List