Crotalaria dolichantha Polhill

First published in Kew Bull. 25: 288 (1971)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central Tanzania. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Short-lived perennial with an erect stem and many procumbent and then ascending branches from near the base, up to ± 4 dm. tall.
Morphology Branches
Branches densely pilose with fine white ± crisped spreading hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves mostly 3-foliolate, but the uppermost usually 1-foliolate; leaflets oblanceolate-oblong, up to 26–48 mm. long and 6–10 mm. wide, rounded at the apex, thinly pubescent with very fine hairs on both surfaces; petiole ± 6–20 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules absent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes shortly pedunculate, fairly lax, up to 10–20 cm. long, ± 12–32-flowered; bracts linear-lanceolate, up to 3–5 mm. long, a little shorter than the pedicel; bracteoles inserted below the middle of the pedicel, filiform, up to 1·5 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 7–8·5 mm. long, with the tube slightly protracted on the lower side, pilose; upper lobes triangular-subulate, more than twice as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard elliptic, yellow, veined and flushed red outside, thinly pubescent medially and apically outside; wings shorter than the keel; keel bent at right-angles in the lower third, with a long narrow twisted beak, 15–16 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary shortly stipitate, pilose, ± 18-ovulate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod and seeds unknown.
Habitat
Grassland of open disturbed places; 1260 m.
Distribution
known only from the above gathering T5
[FTEA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Insufficiently known
Ecology
Africa: Zambezian bushland and thicket
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Herb
[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: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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/

  • 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

  • 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