Fabaceae
Christia

Christia vespertilionis (L.f.) Bakh.f.

First published in Reinwardtia 6: 90 (1961)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is China (Guangdong, Guangxi) to Tropical Asia. It is a subshrub or perennial and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19892028/20042444

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

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

Morphology General Habit
Slender sparingly branched herb to 60 cm tall, the stems puberulous with minute hooked hairs; terminal (or only) leaflet usually less than 1.5 cm long but with extended lateral lobes producing a total width of 3–8 cm, these lobes horizontal or somewhat curved- ascending or -descending, on upper side tinged purplish with lighter streaks marking veins; lateral leaflets if present very small
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers simple or paired in racemes up to 12 cm long, the pedicels 2–3 mm long; calyx inflated in fruit to 11 mm long, standard 6 mm long, yellow to creamy
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit 4–6-jointed, each segment ca. 3 mm long; seeds oblong ca. 2 mm long, brown.
Distribution
Grand Cayman. Native of southeast Asia; naturalised in Jamaica, Hispaniola, on several Lesser Antillean islands and in Trinidad.
[Cayman]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Morphology General Habit
Annual/Perennial, Not climbing, Herb
Vernacular
Mariposa
[ILDIS]

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
[AERP]

Uses

Use
Environmental, Medicine, Miscellaneous
[ILDIS]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • International Legume Database and Information Service

    • International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS) V10.39 Nov 2011
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • World Checklist of Vascular plants (WCVP)

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0