Rhynchosia buchananii Harms

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation

Not Threatened

Morphology General Habit

Perennial, Not climbing, Herb

Leguminosae, B. Mackinder, R. Pasquet, R. Polhill and B. Verdcourt. Flora Zambesiaca 3:5. 2001

Morphology General Habit

Usually an erect shrub but sometimes decumbent, scrambling or climbing, 0.6–1.5 m tall or long; stems puberulous with very short hairs and with dense longer yellow sticky glandular hairs.

Morphology Leaves Leaflets

Leaflets 3, 2–6.5 × 1.5–7 cm, the terminal oblate to rounded ovate, the laterals obliquely ovate, acute to distinctly acuminate at the apex, rounded to very slightly emarginate at the base, finely ± appressed pubescent above and with scattered longer tubercular based hairs, shortly pubescent beneath, the gland dots rather obscure; venation beneath raised and reticulate, mostly very distinctly so; petiole 1.5–4 cm long; rhachis 8–15 mm long; stipules 4 × 2 mm, triangular-lanceolate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences terminal and axillary, often branched, 4–15 cm long including peduncle up to 5 cm long, hairy as in the stems; pedicels 2 mm long; bracts brown, 7 × 2.5–6 mm, ovate, acuminate, with glandular-based hairs outside, deciduous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx pubescent and with long glandular-based hairs and scattered glands; tube 4 mm long; two upper lobes joined for ± three-quarters of their length; laterals 4–7 mm long, lanceolate-triangular; lowest lobe 11–16 mm long, lanceolate-attenuate, often twice as long as others.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Standard yellow with brown veins which dry purple, 16–20 × 10 mm, including 5 mm long claw, oblong-obovate, densely pubescent outside.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary and young fruit very densely covered with long yellow glandular hairs.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods 3–3.5 × 0.8–1 cm, falcate-oblanceolate, narrowed at the base with dense tubercular based hairs and shorter pubescence.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds blackish, 5–6 × 4–5 × 1.5 mm, rounded-oblong, compressed.