Biennial; stems clustered, decumbent, glabrous, 1–2.5 dm, simple at anthesis, later sparingly branched; lowest lvs spatulate to obovate, 1 cm; cauline lvs linear-oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate, 1–3 cm × 2–7 mm, obtuse to subacute; raceme loose and open, 2–10 cm; fls rose-purple to white; wings obovate, 4–6 mm, exceeding the cor; cleistogamous fls secund in slender subterranean racemes; 2n=56. Dry, usually sandy soil; Me. to Mich. and Minn., s. to N.J., w. Va., O., Ind., and Io.; also along the coastal plain from e. Va. to Fla. and Tex. The northern plants have a slightly denser raceme than the southern and are often distinguished as var. obtusata Chodat.
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