Brachystegia allenii Hutch. & Burtt Davy

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation

Not Threatened

Ecology

Africa: Zambezian woodland

Morphology General Habit

Perennial, Not climbing, Tree

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

Morphology General Habit

Tree 3–15(–20) m. high, glabrous; bark rough, persistent, usually deeply fissured and transversely cracked, pale grey; crown rounded; foliage bushy (see notes below), maturing blue-grey, especially beneath.

Morphology Branches

Branchlets often rusty-yellow where pale grey epidermis peels.

Morphology Leaves Stipules

Stipules shortly connate (or ± free but partly intrapetiolar), linear to falcate, 0.5-l(–2) cm. long, usually subpersistent; auricle often more persistent, broadly reniform, 0.3–1 (–2) cm. long, rarely undeveloped; intrapetiolar stipule-bases persistent but often very short and obscure, subtending flattened and laterally keeled dormant buds.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves with (3–)4–5(–6) subequal pairs of leaflets or the middle pairs the largest; petiole (1–)1.5–2.5 cm. long; rhachis (4–)6–15(–18) cm. long, ± channelled, with or without spreading stipels or short narrow wings; leaflets subcircular or broadly oblong to obovate, (1.5–)2–6 × (1–)1.5–4 cm., emarginate or subtruncate to rounded at apex, cordate to truncate and subsymmetrical at base; midrib subcentral; basal fanwise nerves (3–)4–5(–6); nerves conspicuous; veins very closely reticulate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Panicles terminal or terminal and axillary, slender, 4–7 × 3–7 cm.; branches rather long, usually subtended at anthesis by pairs of stipular auricles or complete stipules, with or without reduced 1–3-jugate leaves.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers cream-yellow or with rose-pink bracteoles and white tepals; bracteoles 5–8 × 3–4 mm.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Tepal

Tepals (4–)5(–8), all sepaloid or more rarely (4–)5 ± 1–3, usually all free; outer (4–)5, ovate to spathulate, usually unequal, ± imbricate, 2–4 × 1–2 mm., ± densely long-ciliate, sometimes grading into the (0–)1–3 inner, or the latter linear to vestigial, usually glabrous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens ± 10, ± free, 8–12 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 2–3 mm. long, densely setose mainly on the margins.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pod woody, up to 16 × 4.5 cm., usually held conspicuously like a flag above crown of tree, smooth and drying blue-black and ± pruinose when immature, slowly becoming pinkish-brown and finely scurfy throughout when mature; sutural wings spreading, each 4–8 mm. wide.

Figures

Fig. 39, p. 183.

Habitat

Deciduous woodland, locally dominant on well-drained sites, mostly in dry, hot country at lower altitudes, from sea-level or lake-level to 1000 m. Typical of rocky escarpments around the southern half of Lake Tanganyika and of sandy slopes to the Ruvuma valley, otherwise rather rare; usually in pure stands below B. bussei and B. boehmii, less often in mixture with these and other species.

Distribution

T4 T7 T8

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation

Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident

Leguminosae, R.K. Brummitt, A.C. Chikuni, J.M. Lock and R.M. Polhill. Flora Zambesiaca 3:2. 2007

Morphology General Habit

Tree to 15 m tall; bark deeply or shallowly fissured longitudinally, often coarsely reticulate, flaking in thick rectangular scales, dark grey.

Morphology Branches

Young branchlets pubescent with brown or cream hairs.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves 6–15 cm long; petioles 10–30 mm long; rachis deeply canaliculate above with raised and winged margins; leaflets glaucous in 3–6 overlapping to widely spaced pairs, broadly oblong or rectangular, 1.5–2 times as long as broad, proximal leaflet pair 2–5 × 1.5–3.5 cm, the rest 3–7 × 2–4 cm, obliquely rounded, obtuse or emarginate at the apex, obliquely cordate at the base, glabrous, midvein central, 3–5 veins from the proximal leaflet base.

Morphology Leaves Stipules

Stipules persistent, 10–26 × 1.5–3 mm, shortly connate at the base, erect, linear or falcate; auricles 7–22 × 5–15 mm, reniform to semicircular, palmately nerved, caducous independently of the stipules.

Morphology General Buds

Dormant axillary buds much flattened.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences in terminal and/or axillary panicles to 10 cm long; bracts 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm, ovate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers up to 3–6 × 3–4 mm; pedicels up to 2.5 mm long; bracteoles 5–8 × 3–4 mm, obovate or orbicular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals 5, 2–4 × 1–2 mm, oblong, orbicular or oblong-lanceolate, imbricate, densely cilate on the margins.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals 0–3, up to 3 × 1.5 mm, filiform or linear.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 10, united to 2 mm at the base filaments 8–12 mm long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 3–5 × 1.5–2.5 mm, densely pubescent, oblong, stipe to 3.5 mm long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods dark brown, 9–16 × 3–4.5 cm, oblong to obovate, with suberect ventral flanges.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds up to 7, 15–20 × 10–15 mm, oblong or circular.