Crotalaria pallidicaulis Harms

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 54: 382 (1917)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Central Tanzania to Botswana. It is a shrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Leguminosae, various authors. Flora Zambesiaca 3:7. 2003

Morphology General Habit
Shrub, 1–3(4) m tall, with hairy sometimes glabrescent branches.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves often with short axillary shoots bearing a cluster of smaller leaves, estipulate, 3-foliolate; leaflets 1.5–4 × 0.4–1.2 cm, very variable in shape from linear-oblanceolate to elliptic or oblong-obovate, puberulous at least beneath; petioles mostly 1.7–3.5 times as long as leaflets.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes with usually numerous laxly arranged flowers; bracts 2–3.5 mm long, subulate or linear-lanceolate; bracteoles small.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx (8)9–12 mm long, puberulous; lobes narrowly triangular, sometimes acuminate, ± as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard elliptic-ovate, yellow, usually marked reddish or purple and glabrous outside; wings 0.75–0.9 times as long as the keel; keel 2–2.2(2.3) cm long, rounded about the middle with a rather short bluntly pointed beak.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod including 0.8–1.2 cm long stipe up to 4–5.5 cm long, oblong-clavate, puberulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds c. 5 mm long, oblong-reniform, granulate, ochre or brown.
[FZ]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Zambezian woodland, Zambezian bushland and thicket
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Shrub
[ILDIS]

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

Morphology General Habit
Shrub, 1–3(–4) m. tall; bark streaky, peeling.
Morphology Branches
Branches usually rather densely covered with short slightly spreading or appressed white hairs, ultimately glabrescent.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves alternate and well spaced or often crowded on short axillary shoots, 3–foliolate; leaflets oblanceolate or oblong-elliptic to elliptic, 15–38 mm. long, 4–12 mm. wide, glabrous or puberulous above, appressed puberulous beneath; petiole (15–)20–65 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules absent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes rather lax, up to 4–12 cm. long, up to ± 16—flowered; bracts subulate, 2–3·5 mm. long; bracteoles inserted on the pedicel, filiform, 0·5–1 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 9–12 mm. long, basally narrowed into a prominent receptacle, appressed puberulous outside, minutely crisped puberulous along the lobe-margins inside; upper lobes triangular, ± as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard ovate-elliptic, yellow, marked red or purple and glabrous outside; wings three-quarters to four-fifths as long as the keel; keel rounded about the middle, with a rather short bluntly pointed untwisted beak, 20–23 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod oblong-clavate, narrowed into an 8–12 mm. long stipe, 40–50 mm. long, 8–10 mm. across, appressed puberulous, 10–14—seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds oblong-reniform, ± 5 mm. long, granulate, ochre.
Habitat
Deciduous bushland, secondary scrub and waste places; 1200–1620 m.
Distribution
T5 T7 Zambia and Rhodesia to South Africa (Transvaal)
[FTEA]

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]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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

  • 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