Tephrosia Pers.

Flora Zambesiaca Leguminosae subfamily Papillionoideae by R.K. Brummitt

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorecences usually in terminal and leaf-opposed or axillary pseudoracemes, with flowers clustered at the nodes, the inflorescences sometimes paniculate or contracted and dense, or the flowers clustered (elsewhere rarely singly) in the axils of upper leaves; bracteoles generally absent. Inflorecences usually in terminal and leaf-opposed or axillary pseudoracemes, with flowers clustered at the nodes, the inflorescences sometimes paniculate or contracted and dense, or the flowers clustered (elsewhere rarely singly) in the axils of upper leaves; bracteoles generally absent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 5-lobed, the upper pair of lobes joined higher, the lowest lobe often longest. Calyx 5-lobed, the upper pair of lobes joined higher, the lowest lobe often longest.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals usually reddish-purple, sometimes salmon-pink or red or yellowish-orange; standard pubescent or silky outside, with a well-defined claw; keel petals oblong-elliptic or oblong-falcate, with a distinct claw and auriculate at the base of the blade, joined along the lower margin, slightly adhering to the wings. Petals usually reddish-purple, sometimes salmon-pink or red or yellowish-orange; standard pubescent or silky outside, with a well-defined claw; keel petals oblong-elliptic or oblong-falcate, with a distinct claw and auriculate at the base of the blade, joined along the lower margin, slightly adhering to the wings.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Upper filament lightly attached to the others or less often free, widened and often arched at the base; free parts relatively short, not widened at the tip; anthers dorsifixed. Upper filament lightly attached to the others or less often free, widened and often arched at the base; free parts relatively short, not widened at the tip; anthers dorsifixed.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary usually sessile, 1–22-ovulate; style sharply or gradually upcurved, linear or tapering, sometimes twisted, glabrous or pubescent; stigma a transverse line, punctate or minutely capitate, in the last case often pencil-like.

Morphology General Habit

Annual or perennial herbs, or softly woody shrubs, rarely small trees. Annual or perennial herbs, or softly woody shrubs, rarely small trees.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves usually imparipinnate, less often 1-foliolate, rarely palmately 3–7-foliolate; leaflets usually narrowest at the base and widest above the middle, with the lateral nerves parallel, running through to the margin and often united there to form a well-developed marginal nerve; stipels absent except in palmately-leaved species. Leaves usually imparipinnate, less often 1-foliolate, rarely palmately 3–7-foliolate; leaflets usually narrowest at the base and widest above the middle, with the lateral nerves parallel, running through to the margin and often united there to form a well-developed marginal nerve; stipels absent except in palmately-leaved species.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk usually present around the base of the ovary. Disk usually present around the base of the ovary.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary usually sessile, 1–22-ovulate; style sharply or gradually upcurved, linear or tapering, sometimes twisted, glabrous or pubescent; stigma a transverse line, punctate or minutely capitate, in the last case often pencil-like.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pod usually linear to oblong, variously beaked, dehiscent. Pod usually linear to oblong, variously beaked, dehiscent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds oblong-reniform, with a small hilum; aril developed to varying degrees; radicle incurved. Seeds oblong-reniform, with a small hilum; aril developed to varying degrees; radicle incurved.

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit

Annual or perennial herbs or sometimes shrubs; leaves pinnate with a terminal leaflet; leaflets few or often numerous, with many conspicuous lateral nerves beneath, these parallel and very oblique; stipules setaceous or broader, stipels absent

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers in rather few-flowered racemes, these terminal or opposite the leaves, rarely axillary; bracteoles absent

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 5-lobed, the lobes subequal or the lower one longer, the upper 2 usually more or less joined

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals clawed, the standard roundish and more or less sericeous outside

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 10, the uppermost more or less free

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary sessile; style inflexed or incurved, usually glabrous; ovules numerous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods flat, 2-valved, beaked, many-seeded.

Distribution

A widely distributed genus of more than 125 species, commonest in tropical regions.

Legumes of the World. Edited by G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. MacKinder & M. Lock. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (2005)

Habit

Shrubs or herbs

Ecology

Seasonally dry tropical woodland, bushland, thicket and grassland, often in open and disturbed sandy or rocky areas

Distribution

Pantropical, concentrated in C and tropical N America (c. 45 spp.), Africa-Madagascar (c. 170 spp.), Asia (c. 40 spp.) and Australia (c. 90 spp.)

Note

A taxonomically complex genus; Pedley (pers. comm.) notes that c. 12 species from N Australia, characterised by leaves with reticulate veins, could be segregated as a separate genus

Relationships among genera of Millettieae have been notoriously difficult to unravel based on traditional morphological evidence and this is exemplified by the alphabetical arrangement of genera in the tribal treatments of Geesink (1981; 1984) and Polhill (1994). Geesink (1981) recognised 44 genera and c. 870 species in tribe Millettieae (as ‘Tephrosieae’) while 43 genera were accounted for in Geesink (1984) and Polhill (1994). The genera recognised, however, varied considerably with only 33 genera in common to both treatments of Geesink, while the list of Polhill (1994) combined elements of Geesink (1981, 1984) with new data accumulated since then. Tephrosia has traditionally comprised some 400 species but this is re-estimated at c. 350 species here.

The traditional circumscription of the predominantly pantropical and subtropical tribe Millettieae is followed here (Fig. 45), with 45 genera and (904)–909–(914) species being recognised, (i.e. excluding the two genera and 11 species transferred to Brongniartieae, see Table 8), although the concept of what comprises Millettieae sens. strict. is changing rapidly based on evidence from molecular phylogenies. Sequence data for millettioid genera comes from the plastid rbcL gene (Doyle et al., 1997; 2000; Kajita et al., 2001; Hu & Chang, 2003), phytochrome nucleotide genes (Lavin et al., 1998), the plastid trnK-matK region (Hu et al., 2000) and the nuclear ITS region (Hu, 2000; Hu et al., 2002). Molecular data, together with reinterpreted evidence based on chemistry (Evans et al., 1985) and wood anatomy (Gasson et al., 2004), have been the basis for recognising a number of informal suprageneric groupings and for transferring Cyclolobium and Poecilanthe to tribe Brongniartieae (Table 8; Fig. 45).

 The most far-reaching result of the above molecular analyses was that a substantial part of the traditionally circumscribed tribe Phaseoleae is more closely allied to the core-Millettieae than to the Phaseoleae sens. lat. clade (see page 393). Circumscription of a revised tribe Millettieae is not possible at present until genera are more comprehensively sampled; however, a Millettioid sens. strict. group might be expected to include some genera in the basal millettioid and phaseoloid group, Phaseoleae subtribes Diocleinae, Ophrestiinae and in small part the Erythrininae, tribe Abreae and the core-Millettieae (Fig. 45). The basal millettioid and phaseoloid group comprises 17 genera (94 species) that may belong either in the Millettioids sens. strict. or Phaseoleae sens. lat., or to a clade sister to both these groups (e.g., Kajita et al., 2001). The core-Millettieae clade comprises c. 22 genera and c. 777 spp., with some additional generic segregates being necessary within the ‘canavanine group’ (Evans et al., 1985), to accommodate species of Millettia sens. lat. and Fordia sens. lat., which on the basis of molecular and chemical evidence are excluded from Millettia and Fordia sens. strict.

Relationships between the major groups of genera centred on Lonchocarpus, Derris, Millettia and Tephrosia remain obscure, and still reflect a geographical bias in segregating them, i.e. distributions are limited largely to the New World in the Lonchocarpus group, and the Old World in the other groups. The suggestion that the Andean South American genus Apurimacia might be sister to the largely Old World Tephrosia rather than to Lonchocarpus (e.g., Kajita et al., 2001) is possibly indicative of other Old World–New World sister groups yet to be found. Further molecular evidence will probably result in an overall reduction in the number of genera recognised, particularly in the Tephrosia and Lonchocarpus groups where various small or monotypic ‘one-organ’ genera may be better placed within larger genera. Ptycholobium, Requienia and Paratephrosia, for example, are difficult to distinguish from Tephrosia, but for the emphasis traditionally placed on their atypical pods.

Legumes of the World. Edited by G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. MacKinder & M. Lock. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (2005)

Note

Relationships among genera of Millettieae have been notoriously difficult to unravel based on traditional morphological evidence and this is exemplified by the alphabetical arrangement of genera in the tribal treatments of Geesink (1981; 1984) and Polhill (1994). Geesink (1981) recognised 44 genera and c. 870 species in tribe Millettieae (as ‘Tephrosieae’) while 43 genera were accounted for in Geesink (1984) and Polhill (1994). The genera recognised, however, varied considerably with only 33 genera in common to both treatments of Geesink, while the list of Polhill (1994) combined elements of Geesink (1981, 1984) with new data accumulated since then. Tephrosia has traditionally comprised some 400 species but this is re-estimated at c. 350 species here.

The traditional circumscription of the predominantly pantropical and subtropical tribe Millettieae is followed here (Fig. 45), with 45 genera and (904)–909–(914) species being recognised, (i.e. excluding the two genera and 11 species transferred to Brongniartieae, see Table 8), although the concept of what comprises Millettieae sens. strict. is changing rapidly based on evidence from molecular phylogenies. Sequence data for millettioid genera comes from the plastid rbcL gene (Doyle et al., 1997; 2000; Kajita et al., 2001; Hu & Chang, 2003), phytochrome nucleotide genes (Lavin et al., 1998), the plastid trnK-matK region (Hu et al., 2000) and the nuclear ITS region (Hu, 2000; Hu et al., 2002). Molecular data, together with reinterpreted evidence based on chemistry (Evans et al., 1985) and wood anatomy (Gasson et al., 2004), have been the basis for recognising a number of informal suprageneric groupings and for transferring Cyclolobium and Poecilanthe to tribe Brongniartieae (Table 8; Fig. 45).

 The most far-reaching result of the above molecular analyses was that a substantial part of the traditionally circumscribed tribe Phaseoleae is more closely allied to the core-Millettieae than to the Phaseoleae sens. lat. clade (see page 393). Circumscription of a revised tribe Millettieae is not possible at present until genera are more comprehensively sampled; however, a Millettioid sens. strict. group might be expected to include some genera in the basal millettioid and phaseoloid group, Phaseoleae subtribes Diocleinae, Ophrestiinae and in small part the Erythrininae, tribe Abreae and the core-Millettieae (Fig. 45). The basal millettioid and phaseoloid group comprises 17 genera (94 species) that may belong either in the Millettioids sens. strict. or Phaseoleae sens. lat., or to a clade sister to both these groups (e.g., Kajita et al., 2001). The core-Millettieae clade comprises c. 22 genera and c. 777 spp., with some additional generic segregates being necessary within the ‘canavanine group’ (Evans et al., 1985), to accommodate species of Millettia sens. lat. and Fordia sens. lat., which on the basis of molecular and chemical evidence are excluded from Millettia and Fordia sens. strict.

Relationships between the major groups of genera centred on Lonchocarpus, Derris, Millettia and Tephrosia remain obscure, and still reflect a geographical bias in segregating them, i.e. distributions are limited largely to the New World in the Lonchocarpus group, and the Old World in the other groups. The suggestion that the Andean South American genus Apurimacia might be sister to the largely Old World Tephrosia rather than to Lonchocarpus (e.g., Kajita et al., 2001) is possibly indicative of other Old World–New World sister groups yet to be found. Further molecular evidence will probably result in an overall reduction in the number of genera recognised, particularly in the Tephrosia and Lonchocarpus groups where various small or monotypic ‘one-organ’ genera may be better placed within larger genera. Ptycholobium, Requienia and Paratephrosia, for example, are difficult to distinguish from Tephrosia, but for the emphasis traditionally placed on their atypical pods.

Wheeler et al. (1992) note that this monotypic genus is very close to and perhaps not really distinct from Tephrosia; Geesink (1984) placed it in synonymy under Tephrosia, but Paratephrosia is still widely maintained in Australia

Habit

Shrubs

Ecology

Seasonally dry tropical to warm temperate wooded grassland and open sandy or stony scrub

Distribution

Australia (W Australia, N Territory, S Australia, Queensland)

Use

Used as fish poisons, cover crops, livestock fodder, insecticides, ornamentals and for medicine, e.g. T. virginiana (L.) Pers. (goats rue, devil's shoestring, hoary pea) , T. vogelii Hook.f. (fish-poison pea) , T. purpurea (L.) Pers. and T. candida (Roxb.) DC. (white tephrosia)