Droogmansia De Wild.

Leguminosae, J. B. Gillett, R. M. Polhill & B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1971

Morphology General Habit

Subshrubs or small shrubs with well-developed rootstocks

Morphology Leaves

Leaves unifoliolate, frequently developing after the flowers have appeared; petioles nearly always conspicuously winged, often so much so as to appear like a second lower leaf-blade, rarely not winged; stipules striate, ciliate; stipels present

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences on leafy or leafless snoots, terminal or axillary, falsely racemose or paniculate; primary and secondary bracts present; bracteoles absent; flowers readily disarticulating with their pedicels

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 5-lobed, 2-lipped; upper lip ± bifid, composed of 2 teeth connate for most of their length; lower lip prominently trifid, the central lobe the longest

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla mostly medium-sized, white to purple; standard rounded, produced into a claw at the base, sometimes puberulous outside when young; wings clawed, transversely rugose inside, usually shorter than the other petals; keel usually as long as the standard

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Vexillary filament free at base and apex but connate with the main tube for one-third to half of its length; free parts of the filaments dissimilar, 4 short and filiform, 5 much dilated, longer and pincer-shaped at insertion of the anther; anthers uniform

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Intrastaminal disc short

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary stipitate, 2–many-ovuled; style filiform but slightly stiffened, curved, glabrous above the narrowed hairy apex of the ovary; stigma terminal, capitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods usually markedly stipitate (the stipe often plumose), 1–several-jointed, silky pubescent

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds compressed-reniform; hilum minute, without appendages.

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

Note

The tribe Desmodieae as treated by Ohashi et al. (1981) comprised 27 genera and c. 540 species in three subtribes, the Bryinae, Desmodiinae and Lespedezinae. Molecular analyses by Bailey et al. (1997) and Doyle et al. (2000) show that Bryinae has affinities elsewhere; Lavin et al. (2001a) place it within the Pterocarpus clade of the Dalbergieae sens. lat. (see page 309). The Bryinae are therefore removed from the Desmodieae here, as are two genera formerly placed in subtribe Lespedezinae; Phylacium Benn. and Neocollettia Hemsl., which are moved to tribe Phaseoleae (see page 393) on morphological, palynological and molecular evidence (Doyle et al., 2000; Kajita et al., 2001). The two remaining subtribes of Desmodieae are recognised in this treatment as three groups, the Lespedeza, Phyllodium and Desmodium groups, based on results of an analysis of the chloroplast gene rbcL (Kajita et al., 2001). The Phyllodium and Desmodium groups correspond to subtribe Desmodiinae, and the Lespedeza group to subtribe Lespedezinae (with Campylotropis now comprising 37 instead of 65 species as in Ohashi et al., 1981).

Desmodieae as circumscribed here comprises 30 genera and (524)–527–(530) species (Fig. 48). The tribe occurs in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world, but extends into the cool temperate and sub-boreal regions of E Asia and N America (except W of the Rocky Mountains). At generic level subtribe Desmodiinae is most diverse in tropical S and SE Asia (Dy Phon et al., 1994), while temperate E Asia (Yang & Huang, 1995) and N America (Isely, 1998) are the centres of diversity of subtribe Lespedezinae. The tribe occurs widely from coastal to montane areas, but not at high altitudes. Species are most commonly shrubs or subshrubs, sometimes herbs, rarely trees and are usually erect and 3-foliolate.

The Desmodieae have been considered similar to tribe Phaseoleae (Polhill, 1981a) and were recently shown to be a monophyletic lineage included within Phaseoleae sens. lat. (Fig. 47, page 394), closely related to subtribe Kennediinae (Doyle & Doyle, 1993, Bruneau et al., 1995; Doyle et al., 1997) and possibly sister to Mucuna (Bailey et al., 1997; Doyle et al., 2000; Kajita et al., 2001).

Verdcourt (2000) notes that species are very poorly defined and based on sparse material; only a very few true species may be recognisable when abundant material is available; the Indo-Chinese species D. godefroyana (Kuntze) Schindl. was moved to Tadehagi (Ohashi, 1973a), and then to Akschindlium (Ohashi, 2003). A genus much in need of revision

Habit

Shrubs or subshrubs

Ecology

Seasonally dry tropical plateau to montane woodland, wooded grassland, bushland or seasonally wet grassland

Distribution

SC to W Zambezian to Sudanian Africa