Rhynchosia densiflora (B.Heyne ex Roth) DC.

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

Morphology General Habit

Slender twiner

Ecology

By forest margins

Morphology Leaves

Leaves dull green

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals greenish-yellow striped red

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

Morphology General Habit

Climbing, procumbent or ascending perennial herb 0·3–3 m. long.

Morphology Stem

Stems mostly slender, ridged, shortly pubescent to densely grey hairy and glandular.

Morphology Leaves

Leaflets 3, elliptic, ovate, rhomboid or almost round, the laterals oblique, 1·5–8 cm. long, 1·7–2 cm. wide, rounded, acute or markedly acuminate at the apex, rounded to cuneate at the base, finely scaly pubescent on the nerves to softly pubescent on both surfaces, densely covered with small orange or black glands beneath; petiole 2–7 cm. long; rhachis 0·3–1·3 cm. long; petiolules 1–2·5 mm.; stipules ovate to lanceolate, 4–7 mm. long, 1–4·5 mm. wide, pubescent and glandular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences axillary, sometimes branched, dense, subsessile, oblong; rhachis 2–12·5 cm. long; peduncle 0·5–1 cm. long; pedicels 1·5–3 mm. long; bracts lanceolate, 0·4–1·6 cm. long, 1–5 mm. wide, tapering acute, pilose or pubescent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx pubescent or pilose and glandular punctate; tube ± 1·5–2 mm. long; lobes linear or linear-lanceolate, 0·5–1·7 cm. long, the lowest broader than the laterals, the upper 2 joined at the base or for ± half their length.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla persistent; standard yellow with purple veining, drying orange-brown, elliptic to oblong, 0·7–1·4 cm. long, 4·5–9 mm. wide, glabrous; wings yellow; keel greenish.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods turning dark, elliptic-oblong or oblong, 1–1·4 cm. long, 4·5–5 mm. wide, apiculate, covered with short hairs or dense short tomentum, sparser long hairs and orange-red glands.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds reddish-brown with black mottling or almost entirely black, oblong-reniform, compressed, longest dimension 3·5 mm., shorter dimension 2–3 mm., 1·5 mm. thick.

Distribution

tropical and South Africa, India (Madras), Ceylon and upper Burma K3 K4 K5 K6 T1 T2 T3 T7 U1 U2 U3 U4

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation

Not Threatened

Ecology

Africa: Lake Victoria regional mosaic; bushland and thicket, Zambezian wooded grassland, Lake Victoria regional mosaic; wooded grassland, Lake Victoria regional transition zone; grasslands, Zambezian bushland and thicket, Somalia-Masai grasslands, Somalia

Morphology General Habit

Perennial, Climbing/Not climbing, Herb

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

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit

Climbing perennial herb; stems pubescent

Morphology Leaves Leaflets

Leaflets 3, elliptic, ovate to almost round, 1.5–9 x 1–8 cm, ± densely pubescent, densely covered with small orange or black gland-dots beneath

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences dense, subsessile; rhachis 2–16.5 cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx pubescent or pilose and gland-dotted; tube c. 1.5–2 mm long; lobes linear or linear-lanceolate, 5–17 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla persistent, ± enclosed by the calyx; standard yellow with purplish venation, 7–14 mm long, glabrous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pod 10–14 x 4.5–5 mm, covered with short hairs, long hairs and orange-red glands.

Distribution

C1; S2; widespread in tropical Africa; India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar

Ecology

Altitude range 20–75 m.

Note

First record for Somalia. Verdcourt in Kew Bull. 25: 72–76 (1971) subdivided R. densiflora into four subspecies, three of which are confined to Africa. The Somali plant, with its subobtuse leaves, orange gland-dots and up to 5 cm long racemes cannot easily be placed in any of these.