Fabaceae
Vigna

Vigna platyloba Welw. ex Hiern

First published in Cat. Afr. Pl. 1: 257 (1896)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tanzania to S. Tropical Africa. It is a climbing perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Perennial climbing or trailing herb up to 2 m long.
Morphology Stem
Stem densely pubescent with short ±appressed or longer spreading hairs.
Morphology Leaves Leaflets
Leaflets 3, 6.5–15 × 3–9 cm, ovate- or rhombic-oblong in outline, terminal leaflet shortly obtusely 3-lobed or more rarely entire, lateral leaflets with only one outer lobe, rounded or truncate or cuneate and mucronulate at the apex, cuneate to rounded at the base, velvety or at least covered with appressed hairs on both surfaces; tertiary venation ± subparallel; petiole 1.2–7 cm long; rhachis 0.5–1.5 cm long; stipules 5–10 × 1–1.5 mm, triangular, multinerved, slightly prolonged and subcordate at the base.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Peduncle 3–21 cm × 1–2 mm, pubescent; rhachis 0.6–3 cm long, 3–10-noded, internodes 2–7 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flower purple, 17–27 mm long; pedicel 0.5–1 mm long, not expanding as the pod matures; bracteoles 4–6 × 1–1.5 mm, linear, 1-nerved.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx densely appressed hairy, often velvety, with white and dark brown hairs; tube c. 4 mm long; lobes 1.5–7 mm long, oblong-triangular to triangular-lanceolate, the lowest slightly longer, the upper pair joined for over a half to two-thirds of their length to form a bifid lobe.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard with 2 parallel widely spaced appendages; keel beaked (2–3 mm long), slightly twisted towards the left.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary 9–12-ovuled.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods 6.5–9 cm × 6–7 mm, linear-cylindrical, densely appressed pubescent with white and dark brown hairs, with a curved beak.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed 4.5–6 × 3–4.5 × 2.5–3.5 mm; hilum excentric, 1.5 mm long, nearly half the length of the seed; aril slightly developed.
[FZ]

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

Morphology General Habit
Perennial climbing or trailing herb ± 2 m. long.
Morphology Stem
Stems densely pubescent with short ± adpressed or longer spreading hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaflets 3, ovate-or rhomboid-oblong in outline, 3–11·5 cm. long, 1·5–8·5 cm. wide, terminal leaflet shortly obtusely 3-lobed or more rarely entire, lateral leaflets with only one outer lobe, rounded or truncate and mucronulate at the apex, cuneate to rounded at the base, velvety or at least covered with adpressed hairs on both surfaces; tertiary venation ± subparallel; petioles 1–6 cm. long; rhachis 0·5–2·2 cm. long; petiolules 3–5 mm. long; stipules triangular, 5–10 mm. long, slightly prolonged and subcordate at the base.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences axillary; rhachis up to 2·5 cm. long, the nodes conspicuously glandular; peduncle 5–21 cm. long; pedicels practically obsolete; bracteoles at length deciduous, linear, 3·5–8 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx densely adpressed hairy, often velvety, with white and dark brown hairs; tube ± 4 mm. long; lobes oblong-triangular to triangular-lanceolate, 5–7 mm. long, the lowest longest, the upper pair joined for over half their length to form a bifid lobe.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard pale violet or magenta inside, dull bluish-purple outside, oblate-obovate, 2·2 cm. long, 2·4 cm. wide, emarginate, glabrous; wings deeper mauve or magenta with whitish edges; keel white.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods linear-cylindrical, 4–9 cm. long, 6 mm. wide, densely adpressed pubescent with white and dark brown hairs, ± 12-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds dark or pinkish red with blackish speckling, oblong, compressed, longest dimension 4–5–6 mm., shorter dimension 3·5–4·5 mm., 2·5–3·2 mm. thick; hilum nearly half the length of the seed; aril only slightly developed.
Habitat
Woodland and bushland, also as a weed; 1200–1800 m.
Distribution
T7
[FTEA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Zambezian bushland and thicket, Zambezian woodland
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Climbing/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]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/170465/1314716

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • 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/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/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