< Back to the Object

Edit History
STYLOSANTHES fruticosa (Retz.) Alston [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE]

Date Updated: 19 August 2007

Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1971) Author: J. B. GILLETT, R. M. POLHILL & B. VERDCOURT
Names
STYLOSANTHES fruticosa (Retz.) Alston [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in Suppl. Trimen. Handb. Fl. Ceylon: 77 (1931); Mohlenbr. in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 44: 318 (1957); Verdc. in K.B. 24: 59 (1970). Types: India, Tranquebar & Ceylon, König (LD, syntypes!, BM, possible duplicates!); Trifolium procumbens zeylanicum hirsutum Loti facie of Burm., Thes. Zeyl.: 226, t. 106/20 (1737) (syn.) Arachis fruticosa Retz. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], Obs. Bot. Fasc. 5: 26 (1788) Stylosanthes mucronata Willd. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], Sp. Pl. 3: 1166 (1802); Bak. in F.T.A. 2: 157 (1871); L.T.A.: 320 (1929); W.F.K.: 45 (1948); J. Léon, in F.C.B. 5: 348 (1954); Hepper in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 1: 575 (1958); F.P.U.: 80 (1962); Mohlenbr. in Journ. S. Afr. Bot. 31: 98 (1965), nom. illegit. Type: based on Arachis fruticosa Stylosanthes bojeri Vogel [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in Linnaea 12: 68 (1838); Bak. in F.T.A. 2: 157 (1871); L.T.A.: 321 (1929); W.F.K.: 45 (1948); T.T.C.L.: 444 (1949). Type: Zanzibar I., Bojer (B, holo., K, ? iso.!) Stylosanthes flavicans Bak. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in F.T.A. 2: 156 (1871); L.T.A.: 320 (1929). Type: Sudan, Kordofan, Kotschy 425 (K, holo.!)
Information
Woody herb or subshrub, sometimes only a short-lived perennial, mostly erect but sometimes prostrate, 0.1–1 m. long or tall; rootstock mostly thick and woody. Stems pubescent to densely spreading hairy and often with sparse to dense bristles as well, frequently glandular. Leaflets elliptic or lanceolate, 0.5–3.3 cm. long, 1–9 mm. wide, rounded to acute at both ends, usually pubescent and sparsely to rather densely bristly as well, rarely glabrescent; lateral nerves often conspicuously thickened towards the margins; free part of petiole and rhachis together 0.4–1.5 cm. long; petiolules 0.5 mm. long; stipules 0.8–1.6 cm. long. Inflorescences dense; rhachis 1–1.5(–4) cm. long; peduncle 0–5.5 cm. long; primary bracts 1.2–2 cm. long, sparsely to densely pubescent and bristly; secondary bracts 4–6 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; bracteoles 2, 3.5–5 mm. long; plumose axis usually present, 3–10 mm. long. Receptacle 5–7 mm. long; calyx-lobes oblong, 2.5–3 mm. long, 0.7–1 mm. wide. Standard creamy-white to orange, with red veins and a red mark near base inside, 5–7 mm. long, 4–5 mm. wide; wings and keel yellow or orange-yellow. Pods 4–9 mm. long, 1–2-jointed, the articles 3.5–4 mm. long, 2–2.5 mm. wide, usually densely pubescent; beaks 1.5–2.5 mm. long. Seeds chestnut, compressed-ellipsoid, beaked or pointed near the hilum, shiny, longest dimension 2.5–3 mm., shorter dimension 2–2.5 mm., 1–1.2 mm. thick. Fig. 62.
Range
DISTR. U1–4; K1–7; T1–8; Z; P widespread in tropical Africa from W. Africa, Sudan and Somali Republic to South and South West Africa, also in Arabia, Madagascar, India and Ceylon (see note)
Altitude range
0–1860 m.
Distribution
KENYA Kiambu District 12.8 km. N. of Nairobi, 13 May 1949, Bogdan 2457 !KENYA Kitui District N. Kitui, Migwani Location, Kakiani, 4 May 1960, Napper 1571 !KENYA Kwale District near Mafisini, Buda Forest, 21 Aug. 1953, Drummond & Hemsley 3942!TANGANYIKA Pangani District Bushiri Estate, 2 July 1950, Faulkner 607 !TANGANYIKA Mpwapwa, 8 Mar. 1929, Mrs. Hornby 138!TANGANYIKA Uzaramo District Dar es Salaam, 7 Oct. 1894, Kuntze !UGANDA Acholi District Adilang, Apr. 1943, Purseglove 1537!UGANDA Teso District Serere, Feb. 1933, Chandler 1122!UGANDA Mengo District Nakasongola to Nabuswera, km. 21.7, 5 July 1956, Langdale-Brown 2173 !ZANZIBAR Zanzibar I., Kisimbani, 25 Mar. 1960, Faulkner 2516 !ZANZIBAR Pemba I., Sengenya Dya, 9 Oct. 1951, R. O. Williams 107 ! & Mkoani, 8 Aug. 1929, Vaughan 469 !
Notes
VARIATION. Although Indian material seems to have smaller leaflets and less hairy stems it is possible to match sheets from India exactly with some East African specimens. Some plants from Zanzibar (e.g. Davies in E.A.H. 9698 !, Faulkner 2276 !) show an approach to the East African variant of S. erecta. Mannetje has annotated material from the Lesser Sunda Is. as S. mucronata but it does not seem to be the same as our material. Léonard (loc. cit.) considered that the “type material” of Arachis fruticosa differed from the African plant by its unilaterally pubescent stem and longer styles. As I have shown (Verdc. in K.B. 24: 59–60 (1970)), the specimen Léonard saw from Retzius’ herbarium was in fact one of S. hamata (L.) Taub., but two other specimens he did not see because they were misplaced may be accepted as the types of Arachis fruticosa Retz. Retzius cites only a part of Hedysarum hamatum L. in synonymy and was hence dividing the species; he specifically excluded the Jamaican element now known as S. hamata (L.) Taub.

Date Updated: 19 August 2007

Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1971) Author: J. B. GILLETT, R. M. POLHILL & B. VERDCOURT
Names
STYLOSANTHES fruticosa (Retz.) Alston [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in Suppl. Trimen. Handb. Fl. Ceylon: 77 (1931); Mohlenbr. in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 44: 318 (1957); Verdc. in K.B. 24: 59 (1970). Types: India, Tranquebar & Ceylon, König (LD, syntypes!, BM, possible duplicates!); Trifolium procumbens zeylanicum hirsutum Loti facie of Burm., Thes. Zeyl.: 226, t. 106/20 (1737) (syn.) Arachis fruticosa Retz. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], Obs. Bot. Fasc. 5: 26 (1788) Stylosanthes mucronata Willd. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], Sp. Pl. 3: 1166 (1802); Bak. in F.T.A. 2: 157 (1871); L.T.A.: 320 (1929); W.F.K.: 45 (1948); J. Léon, in F.C.B. 5: 348 (1954); Hepper in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 1: 575 (1958); F.P.U.: 80 (1962); Mohlenbr. in Journ. S. Afr. Bot. 31: 98 (1965), nom. illegit. Type: based on Arachis fruticosa Stylosanthes bojeri Vogel [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in Linnaea 12: 68 (1838); Bak. in F.T.A. 2: 157 (1871); L.T.A.: 321 (1929); W.F.K.: 45 (1948); T.T.C.L.: 444 (1949). Type: Zanzibar I., Bojer (B, holo., K, ? iso.!) Stylosanthes flavicans Bak. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in F.T.A. 2: 156 (1871); L.T.A.: 320 (1929). Type: Sudan, Kordofan, Kotschy 425 (K, holo.!)
Information
Woody herb or subshrub, sometimes only a short-lived perennial, mostly erect but sometimes prostrate, 0.1–1 m. long or tall; rootstock mostly thick and woody. Stems pubescent to densely spreading hairy and often with sparse to dense bristles as well, frequently glandular. Leaflets elliptic or lanceolate, 0.5–3.3 cm. long, 1–9 mm. wide, rounded to acute at both ends, usually pubescent and sparsely to rather densely bristly as well, rarely glabrescent; lateral nerves often conspicuously thickened towards the margins; free part of petiole and rhachis together 0.4–1.5 cm. long; petiolules 0.5 mm. long; stipules 0.8–1.6 cm. long. Inflorescences dense; rhachis 1–1.5(–4) cm. long; peduncle 0–5.5 cm. long; primary bracts 1.2–2 cm. long, sparsely to densely pubescent and bristly; secondary bracts 4–6 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; bracteoles 2, 3.5–5 mm. long; plumose axis usually present, 3–10 mm. long. Receptacle 5–7 mm. long; calyx-lobes oblong, 2.5–3 mm. long, 0.7–1 mm. wide. Standard creamy-white to orange, with red veins and a red mark near base inside, 5–7 mm. long, 4–5 mm. wide; wings and keel yellow or orange-yellow. Pods 4–9 mm. long, 1–2-jointed, the articles 3.5–4 mm. long, 2–2.5 mm. wide, usually densely pubescent; beaks 1.5–2.5 mm. long. Seeds chestnut, compressed-ellipsoid, beaked or pointed near the hilum, shiny, longest dimension 2.5–3 mm., shorter dimension 2–2.5 mm., 1–1.2 mm. thick. Fig. 62.
Range
DISTR. U1–4; K1–7; T1–8; Z; P widespread in tropical Africa from W. Africa, Sudan and Somali Republic to South and South West Africa, also in Arabia, Madagascar, India and Ceylon (see note)
Altitude range
0–1860 m.
Distribution
KENYA Kiambu District 12.8 km. N. of Nairobi, 13 May 1949, Bogdan 2457 !KENYA Kitui District N. Kitui, Migwani Location, Kakiani, 4 May 1960, Napper 1571 !KENYA Kwale District near Mafisini, Buda Forest, 21 Aug. 1953, Drummond & Hemsley 3942!TANGANYIKA Pangani District Bushiri Estate, 2 July 1950, Faulkner 607 !TANGANYIKA Mpwapwa, 8 Mar. 1929, Mrs. Hornby 138!TANGANYIKA Uzaramo District Dar es Salaam, 7 Oct. 1894, Kuntze !UGANDA Acholi District Adilang, Apr. 1943, Purseglove 1537!UGANDA Teso District Serere, Feb. 1933, Chandler 1122!UGANDA Mengo District Nakasongola to Nabuswera, km. 21.7, 5 July 1956, Langdale-Brown 2173 !ZANZIBAR Zanzibar I., Kisimbani, 25 Mar. 1960, Faulkner 2516 !ZANZIBAR Pemba I., Sengenya Dya, 9 Oct. 1951, R. O. Williams 107 ! & Mkoani, 8 Aug. 1929, Vaughan 469 !
Notes
VARIATION. Although Indian material seems to have smaller leaflets and less hairy stems it is possible to match sheets from India exactly with some East African specimens. Some plants from Zanzibar (e.g. Davies in E.A.H. 9698 !, Faulkner 2276 !) show an approach to the East African variant of S. erecta. Mannetje has annotated material from the Lesser Sunda Is. as S. mucronata but it does not seem to be the same as our material. Léonard (loc. cit.) considered that the “type material” of Arachis fruticosa differed from the African plant by its unilaterally pubescent stem and longer styles. As I have shown (Verdc. in K.B. 24: 59–60 (1970)), the specimen Léonard saw from Retzius’ herbarium was in fact one of S. hamata (L.) Taub., but two other specimens he did not see because they were misplaced may be accepted as the types of Arachis fruticosa Retz. Retzius cites only a part of Hedysarum hamatum L. in synonymy and was hence dividing the species; he specifically excluded the Jamaican element now known as S. hamata (L.) Taub.

Date Updated: 19 August 2007

Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1971) Author: J. B. GILLETT, R. M. POLHILL & B. VERDCOURT
Names
STYLOSANTHES fruticosa (Retz.) Alston [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in Suppl. Trimen. Handb. Fl. Ceylon: 77 (1931); Mohlenbr. in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 44: 318 (1957); Verdc. in K.B. 24: 59 (1970). Types: India, Tranquebar & Ceylon, König (LD, syntypes!, BM, possible duplicates!); Trifolium procumbens zeylanicum hirsutum Loti facie of Burm., Thes. Zeyl.: 226, t. 106/20 (1737) (syn.) Arachis fruticosa Retz. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], Obs. Bot. Fasc. 5: 26 (1788) Stylosanthes mucronata Willd. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], Sp. Pl. 3: 1166 (1802); Bak. in F.T.A. 2: 157 (1871); L.T.A.: 320 (1929); W.F.K.: 45 (1948); J. Léon, in F.C.B. 5: 348 (1954); Hepper in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 1: 575 (1958); F.P.U.: 80 (1962); Mohlenbr. in Journ. S. Afr. Bot. 31: 98 (1965), nom. illegit. Type: based on Arachis fruticosa Stylosanthes bojeri Vogel [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in Linnaea 12: 68 (1838); Bak. in F.T.A. 2: 157 (1871); L.T.A.: 321 (1929); W.F.K.: 45 (1948); T.T.C.L.: 444 (1949). Type: Zanzibar I., Bojer (B, holo., K, ? iso.!) Stylosanthes flavicans Bak. [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE], in F.T.A. 2: 156 (1871); L.T.A.: 320 (1929). Type: Sudan, Kordofan, Kotschy 425 (K, holo.!)
Information
Woody herb or subshrub, sometimes only a short-lived perennial, mostly erect but sometimes prostrate, 0.1–1 m. long or tall; rootstock mostly thick and woody. Stems pubescent to densely spreading hairy and often with sparse to dense bristles as well, frequently glandular. Leaflets elliptic or lanceolate, 0.5–3.3 cm. long, 1–9 mm. wide, rounded to acute at both ends, usually pubescent and sparsely to rather densely bristly as well, rarely glabrescent; lateral nerves often conspicuously thickened towards the margins; free part of petiole and rhachis together 0.4–1.5 cm. long; petiolules 0.5 mm. long; stipules 0.8–1.6 cm. long. Inflorescences dense; rhachis 1–1.5(–4) cm. long; peduncle 0–5.5 cm. long; primary bracts 1.2–2 cm. long, sparsely to densely pubescent and bristly; secondary bracts 4–6 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; bracteoles 2, 3.5–5 mm. long; plumose axis usually present, 3–10 mm. long. Receptacle 5–7 mm. long; calyx-lobes oblong, 2.5–3 mm. long, 0.7–1 mm. wide. Standard creamy-white to orange, with red veins and a red mark near base inside, 5–7 mm. long, 4–5 mm. wide; wings and keel yellow or orange-yellow. Pods 4–9 mm. long, 1–2-jointed, the articles 3.5–4 mm. long, 2–2.5 mm. wide, usually densely pubescent; beaks 1.5–2.5 mm. long. Seeds chestnut, compressed-ellipsoid, beaked or pointed near the hilum, shiny, longest dimension 2.5–3 mm., shorter dimension 2–2.5 mm., 1–1.2 mm. thick. Fig. 62.
Range
DISTR. U1–4; K1–7; T1–8; Z; P widespread in tropical Africa from W. Africa, Sudan and Somali Republic to South and South West Africa, also in Arabia, Madagascar, India and Ceylon (see note)
Altitude range
0–1860 m.
Distribution
KENYA Kiambu District 12.8 km. N. of Nairobi, 13 May 1949, Bogdan 2457 !KENYA Kitui District N. Kitui, Migwani Location, Kakiani, 4 May 1960, Napper 1571 !KENYA Kwale District near Mafisini, Buda Forest, 21 Aug. 1953, Drummond & Hemsley 3942!TANGANYIKA Pangani District Bushiri Estate, 2 July 1950, Faulkner 607 !TANGANYIKA Mpwapwa, 8 Mar. 1929, Mrs. Hornby 138!TANGANYIKA Uzaramo District Dar es Salaam, 7 Oct. 1894, Kuntze !UGANDA Acholi District Adilang, Apr. 1943, Purseglove 1537!UGANDA Teso District Serere, Feb. 1933, Chandler 1122!UGANDA Mengo District Nakasongola to Nabuswera, km. 21.7, 5 July 1956, Langdale-Brown 2173 !ZANZIBAR Zanzibar I., Kisimbani, 25 Mar. 1960, Faulkner 2516 !ZANZIBAR Pemba I., Sengenya Dya, 9 Oct. 1951, R. O. Williams 107 ! & Mkoani, 8 Aug. 1929, Vaughan 469 !
Notes
VARIATION. Although Indian material seems to have smaller leaflets and less hairy stems it is possible to match sheets from India exactly with some East African specimens. Some plants from Zanzibar (e.g. Davies in E.A.H. 9698 !, Faulkner 2276 !) show an approach to the East African variant of S. erecta. Mannetje has annotated material from the Lesser Sunda Is. as S. mucronata but it does not seem to be the same as our material. Léonard (loc. cit.) considered that the “type material” of Arachis fruticosa differed from the African plant by its unilaterally pubescent stem and longer styles. As I have shown (Verdc. in K.B. 24: 59–60 (1970)), the specimen Léonard saw from Retzius’ herbarium was in fact one of S. hamata (L.) Taub., but two other specimens he did not see because they were misplaced may be accepted as the types of Arachis fruticosa Retz. Retzius cites only a part of Hedysarum hamatum L. in synonymy and was hence dividing the species; he specifically excluded the Jamaican element now known as S. hamata (L.) Taub.
STYLOSANTHES fruticosa (Retz.) Alston [family LEGUMINOSAE-PAPILIONOIDEAE]
PDF

Related Materials