Fabaceae
Eriosema

Eriosema griseum Baker

First published in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 2: 228 (1871)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. Tropical Africa to Uganda and Angola. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Papilionaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Morphology General Habit
A low-branched undershrub, from 6 in. to 4 ft. high
Morphology General Indumentum
Closely grey-pubescent
Morphology Roots
From a thick woody root
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers yellow, concealed by bracts in shortly pedunculate heads
Ecology
In savannah.
[FWTA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Sudanian grasslands, Sudanian wooded grassland, Zambezian grassland
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
A low much-branched subshrub or with several erect stems from a woody rootstock, 35–60 cm. tall.
Morphology Branches
Branches leafy or bare below with dense grey pubescence and also longer spreading grey hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaflets 3, held erect, paler beneath, elliptic-oblong, obovate-oblong or oblanceolate, 2–3·8 cm. long, 0·5–1·3 cm. wide, rounded and minutely apiculate or emarginate at the apex, narrowed to a rounded base, softly pubescent and with longer hairs above, with dense greyish-white tomentum and longer hairs beneath; venation impressed above and somewhat raised beneath; petiole 2·5 mm. long; rhachis 1–3·5 mm. long; petiolules 1–1·5 mm. long; stipules lanceolate, 8–13 mm. long, 2–3 mm. wide, ciliate and pubescent, veined.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes terminal or in the upper axils, dense, ± globular, ± 2·5–3·5 cm. in diameter; peduncle 1–2 cm. long; pedicels 2 mm. long; bracts papery, lanceolate-falcate, 0·9–1·5 cm. long, 2–3·5 mm. wide, pubescent and also rather sparsely covered with long white hairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx papery, rather sparsely covered with long white hairs; tube 4–6 mm. long; lobes lanceolate-falcate, 1·1–1·5 cm. long, 3–4 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla yellow; standard obovate, 1·2–1·4 cm. long, 6–9 mm. wide, mostly glabrous but with few glands and hairs at the tip outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods oval, 1·3 cm. long, 8 mm. wide, covered with long white hairs, short hairs and sparse glands.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds oblong, chestnut with sparse dark speckling, longest dimension 4·5 mm., shorter dimension 3·5 mm., 2 mm. thick; rim-aril cream.
Habitat
Open or slightly wooded grassland; 900 m.
Distribution
U1 U2 Guine´e to Angola, Congo and Sudan
[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]

Uses

Use
Medicine
[ILDIS]

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

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical 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