Tephrosia

Tephrosia polyphylla (Chiov.) J.B.Gillett

First published in Kew Bull. 13: 123 (1958)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is NE. & E. Tropical Africa. It grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial villous herb up to 1 m tall
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-rhachis up to 5(–11) cm long, including a petiole of up to 0.7(–1.7) cm
Morphology Leaves Leaflets
Leaflets 7–17, usually 11–13, cuneate-oblong or cuneate-obovate, up to 20(–30) x 7(–11) mm, villous, more so beneath
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers purple in terminal pseudoracemes, often also in the upper leaf-axils
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx densely villous with long-acuminate lobes up to 9 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard villous with brownish hairs, 10–13 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style glabrous, 5–6 mm long, curved, twisted, penicillate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods ovate, sessile or almost so, c. 11 x 6 mm, densely white villous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds solitary, c. 4 x 2 mm.
[FSOM]

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

Note
Strongly resembles T. villosa subsp. ehrenbergiana except for the ovary and fruit.
Morphology Leaves
Leaflets 7–17, usually 11–13, rarely more than 20 mm. long by 7 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary 1-ovulate with traces of an abortive second ovule.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod sessile, or very shortly (0.5 mm.) stipitate, ovate, ± 11 mm. long by 6 mm. wide, 1-seeded, densely white tomentose (straw-coloured at the sutures), perhaps indehiscent; if split and one valve examined by transmitted light the veins which are strong and well marked near the sutures are seen to break up into a thin diffuse network near the centre.
Habitat
Acacia, Commiphora bushland, especially at margins of seasonal streams or pans; 240–1400 m.; rainfall 200–600 mm.
Distribution
K1 K2 K4 K7 T3 U1
[FTEA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Somalia-Masai bushland and thicket
Morphology General Habit
Annual, Not climbing, Herb
[ILDIS]

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]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East 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