Mucuna poggei Taub.

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

Morphology General Habit

Large liane, the stems attaining 20 cm. in diameter and 12–30 m. in height·Stems glabrous or pubescent.

Morphology Leaves

Leaflets rhomboid, ovate or obovate, the laterals very asymmetrical, 10–19 cm. long, 6–15·5(–19) cm. wide, apiculate or rounded at the apex, rounded to subcordate at the base, sparsely adpressed pubescent above, densely adpressed silvery-grey hairy beneath or in some variants woolly or glabrescent save for hairs on the nerves; petiole 8–16 cm. long; rhachis 1·5–3 cm. long; petiolules 5–8 mm. long; stipules triangular, ± 1 cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences pendulous, usually with numerous flowers; rhachis 6–32 cm. long; peduncle 2–20 cm. long, greyish or ferruginous tomentose; several flowers per node, the nodes up to 5 mm. long; pedicels 0·8–1 cm. long; bracteoles very deciduous, 1–1·6 cm. long, 4–6 mm. wide.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx densely velvety and with adpressed orange-red bristly irritant hairs; tube 5–12 mm. long, sometimes eventually attaining 2·3 cm. in width; lobes oblong to linear, 2–7 mm. long or lowest lobe up to 2·2 cm. in some W. African specimens, upper pair joined to form an obtuse bilobed lip.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Standard greenish-white or yellowish, ovate to elliptic, 2·5–5 cm. long, 2·1–3·4 cm. wide, more or less glabrous but sometimes with very sparse irritant bristles outside; wings and keel greenish-cream, sometimes with tinge of purple along the edges, 4–9 cm. long, apex of the beak curved and horny; staminal tube sometimes crimson.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruits when 1-seeded almost round, 5 cm. long, 4 cm. wide, but usually 2–5-seeded and 14–20 cm. long, 3·5–4 cm. wide, 1·8 cm. thick, not winged and possibly indehiscent, densely covered with deciduous orange-brown or orange-red bristly very irritant hairs.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds purple or pale brown with dense dark brown mottling, irregularly elliptic-oblong, curved, much compressed, longest dimension 2·5–2·6 cm., shorter dimension 1·5–2 cm., thickness 8–9 mm.; hilum 1·5–1·6 cm. long, 3 mm. wide; aril little developed, black.

Distribution

W. Africa K3 K5 T1 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 U1 U2 U4

Moura, T.M. & Lewis, G.P. 2014. Taxonomic studies in the Mucuna poggei complex (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae). Kew Bulletin 69: 9544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-014-9544-7

Type

Type: Angola. Isolectotype: Welwitsch 2241 (BM!), designated by Hepper (1956).

Morphology General Habit

Lianas with pubescent stems

Morphology Leaves

Leaves alternate, 3-foliolate; stipules persistent; petiole 6 – 17 cm long, rachis 1.5 – 2 cm long; stipels persistent, linear, 5 – 6 mm long; petiolules 5 – 10 mm long; the apical leaflet obovate to elliptic, 8.5 – 17.5 × 7 – 13 cm, rounded to obtuse at base, round to mucronulate at apex, the lateral leaflets asymmetrical, 9.5 – 17.5 × 7.5 – 14 cm, rounded to slightly subcordate at base, acuminate to mucronulate at apex, long dense hairs on the abaxial surface of the leaflets

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence a pseudoraceme; peduncle 7.5 – 10 cm long; rachis c- 20 cm long; bracts caducous; bracteoles 5 × 4 mm, sericeous, caducous; pedicels 1 – 1.5 cm long, 3 flowers per fleshy node

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers 7.5 – 8.5 cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx sericeous, campanulate, with appressed hairs 1.5 – 1.8 cm long on outer and inner surfaces; lobes 4, the adaxial one formed by two connate sepals, the abaxial one c- 5 mm long, the other two lobes c- 2 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla described as greenish white (J Lewalle 1578, K); standard petal 5.5 × 2.5 – 3 cm, oblong, rounded at apex, sagittate at base, the claw c- 3 mm long, glabrous; wing petals 7.5 – 8 × 2 cm, lanceolate, basally attenuate, apically rounded to obtuse, pubescent at base, the claw c- 7 mm long; keel petals 7.5 – 8.5 × 1.5 – 1.7 cm, oblong, attenuate at base, acute at apex, pubescent at base, the claw c- 1 cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 10, diadelphous, with nine stamens fused, one free; filaments 7 – 8 cm long, glabrous; anthers dimorphic, five of them 2 mm long, oblong, basifixed, the others 1 mm long, globose, dorsifixed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium

Gynoecium c- 8 cm long; ovary sessile, oblong, 5 – 7 × 2 mm, densely sericeous; style 7.3 – 7.5 cm long, densely sericeous, glabrescent at apex, the stigma peltate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit indehiscent, oblong, the surface covered by reddish irritating hairs

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Mature seeds circular, 2.7 × 2.2 cm, brown; hilum 14 – 17 mm long

Distribution

Mucuna poggei occurs in Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda (Map 1). Hepper (1956) reported this species to occur in Zambia, but we have seen no specimens from that country.

Ecology

The species occurs in gallery, riverine, and evergreen forest, on valley slopes and along rivers; one collection from Uganda is reported from grassland.

Note

In the protologue of Mucunarubro-aurantiaca De Wild. the author did not state the herbarium in which the type material is housed. Nevertheless, in the Meise Herbarium (BR) we located two sheets of Homblé 664. On one of these (BR 894583) is written ‘holotype’ by hand in pencil. We agree with Hepper (1956) who placed M. rubro-aurantiaca as a synonym of M. poggei Taub.

Mucuna poggei is easily recognised by the indehiscent fruit, the length of the flowers (7.5 – 8.5 cm long) and of the stipels (5 – 6 mm long), and the long, dense, appressed hairs on the abaxial surface of the leaflets. For differences from the other taxa see comments under M. pesa and M. occidentalis.

In the protologue of Mucuna poggeia number of syntypes are cited: Angola, Welwitsch 2240 – 2241; Malandsche, an einem Bache Pogge 831; OberesCongogebiet, an flusseLuatschim, Lourenço Marques 279; Togo, Bismarckburg, am WegenachKatschenkiButtner 4; Nʼdongo a Mʼjoi, (nachLourenço Marques). Hepper (1956) commented that Pogge 831 and Buttner 4 were apparently destroyed at Berlin. He designated the specimen Welwitsch 2241 (BM) as an isolectotype of M. poggei var. poggei, but gave no indication as to the herbarium in which the lectotype is deposited, although Welwitschʼs top set of specimens is housed in COI and it is likely that the lectotype is deposited there.

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation

Not Threatened

Ecology

Africa: Somalia-Masai forest, Guinea-Congolia/Sudania regional transition zone; forest., Lake Victoria regional mosaic; bushland and thicket, Somalia-Masai bushland and thicket, Sudanian forest., Sudanian bushland and thicket, Zambezian forest, Zambezian

Morphology General Habit

Perennial, Climbing, Herb/Shrub

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