Crotalaria thomasii Harms

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 26: 283 (1899)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Ethiopia to NE. Tanzania. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual or short-lived perennial, up to 3 dm. tall, with numerous rather long procumbent lower branches spreading from near the base.
Morphology Stem
Stem finely white appressed pubescent.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets obovate-elliptic to obovate, up to 24 mm. long, 14–18 mm. wide, glabrous (except sometimes along the midvein) above, thinly appressed puberulous beneath; petiole up to 15–25 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules absent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes up to 8 cm. long, with a number of fairly closely arranged flowers towards the top; bracts linear, up to 1–2 mm. long; bracteoles inserted at the base of the calyx, oblong or obovate, up to 2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx abruptly contracted at the base, 4–4·5 mm. long, appressed puberulous; lobes narrowly triangular, ± as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard suborbicular-ovate, yellow, glabrous or puberulous along the midvein outside; wings ± as long as the keel or shorter; keel rounded about the middle, with a short incurved untwisted beak, 6–8(–9) mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod subsessile, asymmetrically oblong-ellipsoid, slightly curved, up to 14–16 mm. long, 4·5–6 mm. across, densely covered with fine curly and ± spreading hairs outside, densely packed with long hairs inside, ± 12–14-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds oblique-cordiform, ± 2 mm. long, smooth, brown.
Habitat
Little known, but does occur in places of impeded drainage and in dry stream beds; 0–1200 m.
Distribution
K7 T3 T5
[FTEA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
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: not 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