Canavalia africana Dunn [family LEGUMINOSAE]

Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora Zambesiaca
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
FZ, Vol 3, Part 5, (2001) Author: B. Mackinder, R. Pasquet, R. Polhill and B. Verdcourt
Names
Canavalia virosa [family LEGUMINOSAE], sensu Piper & Dunn in Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1922: 136 (1922) pro parte. —sensu E.G. Baker, Legum. Trop. Africa: 384 (1929). —sensu Sauer in Brittonia 16: 152 (1964) quoad specim. Afr. —sensu Verdcourt in F.T.E.A., Leguminosae, Pap.: 573 (1971). —sensu Drummond in Kirkia 8: 217 (1972). —sensu Gonçalves in Garcia de Orta, Sér. Bot. 5: 65 (1982), non (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.
Canavalia ferruginea Piper [family LEGUMINOSAE], in Piper & Dunn in Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1922: 141 (1922). —E.G. Baker, loc. cit.: 385 (1929). —Burtt Davy, Fl. Pl. Ferns Transvaal, part 2: 424 (1932). Lectotype, chosen by Sauer (1964), from South Africa (Mpumalanga).
Canavalia gladiata [family LEGUMINOSAE], sensu E.G.Baker., Legum. Trop. Africa: 384 (1929) pro parte. —sensu Robyns in F.C.B. 6: 145, fig. 5B (1954) pro parte, non (Jacq.) DC.
Canavalia africana Dunn [family LEGUMINOSAE], in Piper & Dunn in Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1922: 135 (1922). —Verdcourt in Kew Bull. 42: 658 (1987). —Lock, Leg. Afr. Check-list: 389 (1989). Lectotype, chosen by Verdcourt (1971), from Uganda.
Dolichos virosus Roxb. [family LEGUMINOSAE], in Carey, Fl. Indica 3: 301 (1832) pro parte.
Canavalia virosa Roxb. Wight & Arn. [family LEGUMINOSAE], Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient.: 253 (1834) pro parte.
Canavalia polystachya Schweinf. [family LEGUMINOSAE], Reliq. Kotschy.: 25 (1868) pro parte quoad t. 20 and 21.
Canavalia ensiformis [family LEGUMINOSAE], sensu J.G. Baker in F.T.A. 2: 190 (1871). —sensu Eyles in Trans. Roy. Soc. South Africa 5: 381 (1916). —sensu Wild in Clark, Victoria Falls Handb.: 150 (1952). —sensu Hepper in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 1: 574 (1958) pro parte, non (Wight & Arn.) Baker.
Canavalia ensiformis var. mollis [family LEGUMINOSAE], sensu J.G. Baker in F.T.A. 2: 191 (1871), non (Wight & Arn.) Baker.
Information
Perennial climber, or stems trailing, 3–15 m long. Stems appressed ferruginous pubescent, glabrescent. Leaflets 6–17(23) × 4–12(15) cm, ovate, acuminate to a short blunt tip or elsewhere rarely rounded, sparsely to densely pubescent on both surfaces; petiole 4–13(16) cm long; stipules c. 2 mm long, rather thick. Inflorescences 18–50 cm long, long-pedunculate; pedicels 2 mm long; bracteoles just over 1 mm long, obtuse. Calyx pubescent; tube 6–9 mm long; upper lip 4–5 mm long, rounded or emarginate. Standard mauve with white veins and green towards the base, 2.7–3 × 1.7 cm, oblong; wings and keel mauve, white towards the base. Pods 10–17 × 2.5–3 cm, linear-oblong, each valve with a sutural rib and an extra rib just below this, densely ferruginous pubescent at first, later somewhat glabrescent. Seeds brown or reddish-brown, sometimes marbled with black, 16–20 × 11–20 × 7–11 mm; hilum 11–15 mm long.
Habitat
Low altitude evergreen forest, high rainfall miombo and secondary associations, mostly in riverine vegetation and by lakes
Range
tropical Africa
Altitude range
5–1550 m.
1550
5
Distribution
Mozambique M Marracuene Distr., Bobola, fl. & fr. 14.iv.1945, A.E. Sousa 162 (LISC).Mozambique GI Chibuto Distr., Lhanguene, fr. 10.vii.1947, Pedro & Pedrógão 1429 (K; LMA).Mozambique MS Sussundenga Distr., c. 20 km southwest of Dombe, fl. 22.iv.1974, Pope & Müller 1235 (K; LISC; SRGH).Mozambique T Changara Distr., entre Boroma e o forno da cal, 22.ix.1942, Mendonça 348 (LISC).Mozambique Z Maganja da Costa Distr., Bajone, between Namuera and Murroa, fl. & fr. 2.x.1949, Barbosa & Carvalho 4283 (K; LMA).Malawi S Chiradzulu Mt., above District Commissioner’s Residence, fl. & immat. fr. 3.iv.1970, Brummitt & Banda 9603 (K; MAL).Malawi C Kasungu Distr., Chimwala (Cimwala), Chimbiya (Cimbiya) Hill, fl. & fr. 1.vi.1955, G. Jackson 1678 (K).Zimbabwe E Farm Rocklands, c. 19 km north of Chimanimani (Melsetter) on old road to Cashel, fl. & fr. 26.ii.1954, Crook 534 (K; SRGH).Zimbabwe C Hwedza (Wedza) Mt., fr. 21.v.1968, Mavi 730 (K; SRGH).Zimbabwe W Hwange Distr., Victoria Falls, Long Island, fr. iv.1918, Eyles 1266 (K; SRGH).Zambia S Kafue Gorge, fr. 6.x.1957, Angus 1742 (FHO; K).Zambia E Petauke Distr., Chilongozi Game Camp, fl. 11.x.1960, Richards 13329 (K).Zambia C South Luangwa National Park, Mfuwe Game Camp, fl. & fr. 24.iii.1963, Verboom 802 (K).Zambia N Mbala Distr., Lake Tanganyika, Mpulungu, fl. & fr. 12.iv.1959, Richards 11203 (K).Mozambique N Mossuril Distr., c. 29 km west of Lumbo, fl. 21.v.1961, Leach & Rutherford-Smith 10949 (K; LISC; SRGH).Malawi N Nkhata Bay, District Commissioner’s Beach, fr. 25.vii.1975, Pawek 9893 (K; MAL; MO).Zimbabwe N Gokwe Distr., Sesame River Test Herd below Sesame (Sasami) R. Gorge, fr. 3.iv.1964, Bingham 1310 (K; SRGH).Zambia B Kabompo Mouth, Kabompo/Zambezi confluence, fr. 25.v.1954, Gilges 376 (K).
Distribution (external)
north-eastern Africa
Yemen
Socotra
India
Notes
Recorded also from Mozambique, Tete Province, by Gonçalves (loc. cit.) as C. virosa, and from Zimbabwe S by Drummond (loc. cit.).Canavalia gladiata (Jacq.) DC., one of the “Sword Beans”, may be cultivated and is frequently cited in the literature, but records seen have proved to be misidentifications. It is similar to C. africana, but the pods and seeds are larger, the pods 20–40 × 3.5–5 cm, the seeds 2.1–3.5 cm long and the hilum 1.5–2 cm long.
Canavalia africana Dunn [family LEGUMINOSAE]
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