Crotalaria polytricha Polhill

First published in Crotalaria Africa & Madagascar: 120 (1982)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. Zambia. It is a perennial or subshrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Leguminosae, various authors. Flora Zambesiaca 3:7. 2003

Morphology General Habit
Bushy herb or small shrub, up to 1–1.6 m tall, densely covered with rather long spreading hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves shortly petiolate, 3-foliolate; leaflets 2.5–6 × 1–3 cm, elliptic to obovate, pilose on both surfaces; stipules 4–6 mm long, filiform.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes laxly 2–4-flowered; bracts 4–8 mm long, filiform; bracteoles inserted near middle of pedicel, similar.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 1.2–1.4 cm long, pilose with irregularly arranged hairs not completely obscuring the surface; lobes attenuate, 2.5–3 times as long as the tube.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard obovate-circular, yellow, thinly pilose towards the apex outside; wings ± as long as the keel; keel 1–1.2 cm long, semicircular, crested on the upper margin, with a rather short narrow acute beak, sparsely pilose in a band near the lower margin.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pod very shortly stipitate, mostly 2.5 × 1 cm, subcylindrical, densely villous outside, sparsely pilose inside, mostly (15)20–28-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 3–3.5 mm long, obliquely oblong-cordiform, smooth, shiny, yellow.
[FZ]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Insufficiently known
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Herb/Shrub
[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: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

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

  • 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