Crotalaria verdcourtii Polhill

First published in Kew Bull. 22: 249 (1968)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is SE. South Sudan, SW. Ethiopia, Kenya. It is a subshrub or shrub 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: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Somalia-Masai grasslands
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Herb
[ILDIS]

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

Morphology General Habit
Bushy short-lived perennial, up to 6–14 dm. tall.
Morphology Stem
Stem densely covered with rather short whitish slightly spreading hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets elliptic or obovate, up to 30–66 mm. long, 12–36 mm. wide, densely pubescent on both surfaces when young, later somewhat glabrescent; petiole 40–80 mm. long.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules filiform, mostly 3–6 mm. long, rarely smaller and rather obscure.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes up to 16–50 cm. long, with many fairly closely arranged flowers; bracts longer than the flowering pedicel, linear, 4–7 mm. long, somewhat persistent; bracteoles inserted on the upper part of the pedicel, filiform, up to 2–3 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 10–14 mm. long, densely short pubescent; lobes narrowly attenuate-lanceolate, ± 3 times as long as the tube, reflexed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard suborbicular, bright yellow, usually with a wine-coloured mark at the base inside, turning reddish overall with age, pubescent outside; wings oblong-obovate, much longer than the keel; keel strongly rounded, with a rather short incurved blunt beak which becomes slightly twisted at the tip in the older flowers, 11–14 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod oblong-clavate, narrowed into a 4–6 mm. long stipe, (35–)43–55 mm. long, up to 11–12 mm. across, tomentellous, ± 24–36-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds oblique-cordiform, laterally compressed, 3·5–4 mm. long, markedly rugulose, brown.
Habitat
Upland grassland, edges of riverine forest and grassland with scattered Acacia; 550–1550 m.
Distribution
K1 K2 K4
[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/

  • 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