Crotalaria varicosa Polhill

First published in Kew Bull. 22: 243 (1968)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tanzania. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Insufficiently known
Ecology
Africa: Lake Victoria regional transition zone; grasslands
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Herb
[ILDIS]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/111319626/111319726

Conservation
EN - endangered
[IUCN]

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

Morphology General Habit
Prennial, with numerous radiating prostrate well-branched pilose stems up to 6–7·5 dm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets narrowly to broadly elliptic or obovate, up to 16–34 mm. long, 8–14 mm. wide, subglabrous above, usually rather thinly appressed pilose beneath; petiole 12–30(–43) mm. long.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules linear-subulate, 2–4 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes subumbelli-form, usually longer than the opposed leaf, 2–6(–12) cm. long, ± 4–8-flowered; bracts linear-subulate, up to 1·5 mm. long; bracteoles inserted at the top of the pedicel, filiform, up to 1·5 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx shorter than the keel, 3·5–5·5 mm. long, usually rather sparsely hairy; lobes narrowly deltoid, shorter to a little longer than the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard suborbicular, yellow, glabrous outside; wings rather shorter than the keel; keel bent at right-angles in the lower third, with a long tapered untwisted beak, 5·5–7 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod practically sessile, subglobose to shortly ellipsoid, depressed, 8–11 mm. long, 7–8 mm. across, 5–6 mm. in dorsiventral diameter, thick-walled and tardily dehiscent, with the vein-network markedly raised, rather sparsely pubescent, ± 8–12-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Mature seeds unknown.
Habitat
Grassland on sandy soils, persisting in pastures and on cultivated ground; 1140–1170 m.
Distribution
T1 not known elsewhere
[FTEA]

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/

  • 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

  • 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