Fabaceae
Zornia

Zornia glochidiata Rchb. ex DC.

First published in Prodr. 2: 316 (1825)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Cape Verde, Tropical & S. Africa, Madagascar. It is an annual and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual herb.
Morphology Stem
Stems erect or decumbent, up to 40 cm. long.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 2-foliolate; leaflets of upper leaves lanceolate, up to 30 × 8 mm., acute, sparsely and obscurely glandular-punctate beneath, especially near the margin; those of lower leaves smaller and proportionally broader.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules narrowly lanceolate, up to 12 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts ovate, acute, longer than the internodes, without or with a few inconspicuous glands.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers inconspicuous, much shorter than the bracts.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx ± 3.0 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals yellow, with or without red markings, or red; standard ± 5 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Legume up to 20 mm. long and 6-seeded, but more usually 4-seeded; segments 3.5 × 3 mm.; bristles stiff, 2–3 mm. long, glochidiate and retrorsely hispid.
Habitat
Grassland, rocky places, often a weed of cultivated ground or roadsides; 0–1800 m.
Distribution
widely spread from Senegal to Eritrea and Cape Province K2 K3 K5 K7 T1 T2 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 U1 U2 U3
[FTEA]

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]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Somalia-Masai grasslands, Somalia-Masai anthropic landscapes, Sudanian anthropic landscapes, Sudanian grasslands, Zambezian grassland, Zambezian anthropic landscapes., Sahel regional transition zone; grassland
Morphology General Habit
Annual, Not climbing, Herb
Vernacular
Kitra, Maitsorovy
[ILDIS]

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

Morphology General Habit
An annual herb, becoming much-branched and straggling
Note
Not usually surviving the dry season
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers very inconspicuous, yellow with reddish-purple tinge.
[FWTA]

Leguminosae, B. Verdcourt. Flora Zambesiaca 3:6. 2000

Morphology General Habit
Erect or decumbent annual herb (rarely perennial) (4)10–70 cm tall.
Morphology Stem
Stems sometimes slightly woody at the base, glabrous, glabrescent or puberulous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 2-foliolate; upper leaflets 6–45 × 2–14 mm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acute and mucronulate at the apex, rounded at the base, glabrescent or pubescent beneath and sparsely glandular-punctate; lower leaflets mostly relatively broader; petiole 4–22 mm long; petiolules c. 1 mm long; stipules 5–18 mm long including the 1–7 mm long spur, 1–3 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate or lanceolate, glabrous and very sparsely punctate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences 4–20 cm long; peduncle 1–5 cm long; bracts 5–13 × 2–7 mm, ovate or elliptic, acute, ciliate but otherwise glabrous, with no or very few glands.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx tube 1.5 mm long; lobes 0.5–1.5 mm long, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard white, yellow or orange, veined with red or pink, or mauve or crimson often paler within and yellow at base, 4.5–6 × 3–4.5 mm; wings yellow, pink or crimson; keel mostly greenish, sometimes orange to vinaceous at the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits 11–17 mm long of 3–5 articles; each article 2–3 mm long and broad, not glandular but covered with numerous barbellate spreading bristles 0.8–2.5 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds brown, 1.5 × 1.1 × 0.5 mm, compressed reniform; hilum small, eccentric, the rim raised at each end.
[FZ]

Uses

Use
Forage, Medicine
[ILDIS]

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

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical 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

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Plants and People Africa

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
    • © Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com 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