Crotalaria macrantha Polhill

First published in Kew Bull. 22: 206 (1968)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Uganda. It is a shrub 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
Erect woody herb, up to 2 m. tall.
Morphology Branches
Branches rather persistently and densely white appressed pubescent.
Morphology Leaves
Stipules leafy, stalked, caducous; blade obtriangular-obovate, up to 7–10 mm. long, 4–6 mm. wide, truncate, pubescent beneath; stalk up to 4 mm. long. Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets elliptic-oblong, up to 5 cm. long and 1·8 cm. wide, glabrous above, appressed pubescent beneath; petiole up to 4·8 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes up to 12 cm. long, with a rather slender slightly zig-zag rhachis, many-flowered; bracts narrowly oblong-lanceolate, up to 12–15 mm. long, 2·5–3·5 mm. wide, shortly caudate, appressed puberulous on both surfaces, caducous; bracteoles inserted on the upper part of the pedicel, linear-lanceolate, up to 9 mm. long, caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx ± 20–23 mm. long, basally narrowed into a prominent receptacle, finely appressed pubescent; upper and lateral lobes on either side joined almost to the tips, ± twice as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard ovateelliptic, yellow, thinly pubescent medially and apically outside; wings a little over half as long as the keel; keel broadly rounded, with a rather short straight truncate untwisted beak, ± 45 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod oblong-clavate, narrowed into the ± 15 mm. long stipe, at least 7–8 cm. long, 1·2 cm. across, appressed pubescent, many-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Mature seeds unknown.
Habitat
Margins of upland rain-forest; 2100 m.
Distribution
U1 not known elsewhere
[FTEA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Insufficiently known
Ecology
Africa: Afromontane(upland) 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