Millettia stuhlmannii Taub.

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation

Not Threatened

Ecology

Africa: Zambezian woodland

Morphology General Habit

Perennial, Not climbing, Tree

Flora Zambesiaca Leguminosae subfamily Papillionoideae by B. Verdcourt*

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences paniculate, pendulous, 20–40(70) cm long, grey-velvety with minute hairs; branches numerous, 1–9 cm long; bracts small, ovate, falling very early; pedicels 8–11 mm long; bracteoles 2–3 mm long, ovate-oblong, up to 1 mm below calyx, soon falling.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers scented. Flowers not known, ultimate cymule stalks 5 mm long in fruit. Flowers unknown.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx minutely velvety; tube 6–8 mm long; lobes 5–7 mm long, ovate-oblong, rounded, overlapping at the base, laterals 4–5(8) mm wide, the upper pair united to within 1 mm of the tip.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla purple or lilac, white or cream at the base, veined, glabrous; standard 2–2.6 × 2.5–2.8 cm, almost round, with auricles 2–3 mm long and 2 shelf-like appendages 3 × 1–2 mm across the top of the 4–5 mm long claw; wing-blades 2.3 × 1.1 cm, with claw 4–7 mm long; blades of keel petals 2.2 × 1.1 cm with similar claws.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamen sheath 2–2.5 cm long with free parts of filaments 4–8 mm long; upper stamen free and strongly bent at base; anthers 1.3–1.8 mm long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk short.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 1–1.1 cm long, 8–10-ovuled, densely silky; stipe 5–6 mm long; style curved, glabrous except at base; stigma globular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pod yellow-brown, woody, 18–47 × 3–5.1 cm, densely velvety when young, eventually glabrous, lenticellate, rugulose, 6–8-seeded. Pods 7.5 × 1 cm, linear, with a deep central longitudinal groove (according to the collector, less evident in dried fruit), glabrous (a few very scattered hairs visible at high magnification), 4-seeded. Pods brown, 6.5–9.8 × 1.2–1.4 cm, linear-oblong, slightly margined, narrowed to the base, glabrous save for few scattered hairs towards the base, 2–3-seeded.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds chocolate-brown to blackish-purple, transversely positioned, 2–2.4 × 1.5–2 × 0.4 cm, broadly elliptic or ± round, flattened, ± discoid; hilum placed at one end, surrounded by a yellow rim aril prolonged at one side into a ligulate process 1.5–3 mm long pressed against the funicle which is slightly enlarged at both ends. Seeds red-brown, 8.5 × 8 × 2.5 mm, discoid, narrowed at margin.

Distribution

Also in S Tanzania.

Conservation

Conservation notes: Widely distributed; Lower Risk, Least Concern.

Morphology General Indumentum

Young shoots glabrous, with ridged bark. Young branchlets with minute appressed white hairs.

Morphology General Habit

Multi-stemmed shrub to 1.8 m tall. Scramblingr or spreading bush. Tree to 7.8 m tall with white bark. Tree 6–24 m tall with a spreading crown; bark greenish-yellow, greenish-grey or reddish, smooth, papery and flaky (but has been described as grey and rough in part); slash yellow. Tree or shrub 2.7 m tall; all leaflets opposite, some ± acuminate but tip emarginate. Shrub or small tree to 3 m. Climber; young stems ferruginous pubescent.

Morphology Branches

Branchlets glabrous with ridged bark.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves 13-foliolate; rachis plus petiole 13 cm long, glabrous; leaflets 2.3–5.5 × 1.2–2 cm, elliptic to narrowly oblong, acuminate at the apex, the actual tip rounded, cuneate at the base, glabrous; petiolules 2 mm long; stipels persistent, 2–2.5 mm long. Leaves up to 9–?11-foliolate; rachis plus petiole up to 14.5 cm long, glabrous; leaflets 5–6.5 × 3–4 cm, ovate to elliptic-oblong, shortly narrowed to a very slightly emarginate apex, rounded at the base, glabrous. Terminal leaflet up to 7.5 × 3 cm; leaflet-margin recurved; leaflets sometimes distinctly not quite opposite. Leaves 7–9-foliolate; petiole 3–12 cm long; rachis minutely hairy, 7–18 cm long; leaflets 7–24 × 5.5–15.5 cm, oblong to elliptic or obovate, round to emarginate at the apex, broadly cuneate to rounded at the base, almost glabrous above, sparsely pubescent beneath; lateral nerves 7–10 on each side, reaching the margin; stipules 10–14 × 3–6 mm, ± oblong, with an oblong appendage at the base, soon falling; stipels 5–8 mm long, filiform, persistent; petiolules 6–12 mm long. Leaves 9–11-foliolate; petiole 3.5 cm long, densely yellow-brown spreading pubescent; rachis slender, c.9 cm long; terminal leaflet c.4 × 2 cm, narrowly obovate, lowest leaflets c.1.5 × 1.2 cm, rounded elliptic, the intermediate ones elliptic to oblong-elliptic, all rounded and very slightly emarginate at the apex; some of leaflets not quite opposite; leaflets dry pale grey-green, appressed-pubescent beneath, with close raised reticulum on both surfaces; stipels subulate. Leaves 9–11-foliolate; petiole 8.5 cm long; rachis 11.5 cm long; leaflets up to 11 × 4.5 cm, oblong-elliptic, appressed-pubescent beneath; petiolules 6 mm long; stipels broadly triangular.

Morphology Stem

Stems with nodular petiole bases and subpersistent stipules.

Ecology

Miombo woodland on rocky scarp; c.1150 m. “A chief component of dense bush on sand”; 750 m. Locally frequent in high rainfall areas at low altitudes, in forest or woodland and beside streams; in Brachystegia and Pterocarpus woodland, in Parkia, Pteleopsis, Khaya gallery forest, and forming an association with Afzelia, Pteleopsis, Pterocarpus and Xylia, often in riverine and degraded associations, or persisting on cleared grassy plateaux; on white or red sands, often in rocky places; 10–1020 m.