Crotalaria spartea
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Habit
Open wooded grassland
Chililabombwe District
Mar 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
Leaf
Open wooded grassland
Chililabombwe District
Mar 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
Flower
Open wooded grassland
Chililabombwe District
Mar 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
Flower
Open wooded grassland
Chililabombwe District
Mar 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)
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| Description: |
Erect or straggling annual 0.2–1.3 m tall; branches well spaced, curved-ascending, sparsely appressed puberulous, glabrescent. Leaves very shortly stalked, simple; blades (40)60–130 × (3)5–8(15) mm, mostly linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, the lower sometimes shorter and ± elliptic, sparsely appressed puberulous beneath; stipules 1–2.5 mm long, filiform to subulate-caudate. Racemes laxly 10–16(24)-flowered; bracts 1–2 mm long, ± filiform; bracteoles inserted at the base of the calyx, similar. Calyx 3–4 mm long, sparsely appressed puberulous; lobes acuminately triangular, ± as long as the tube. Standard elliptic to obovate-elliptic, bright yellow, reddish-brown veined outside; wings much shorter than the keel; keel 7–9 mm long, shallowly curved just below the middle, with a narrow sharply pointed only slightly incurved beak. Pod practically sessile, 16–25 × 4–5 mm, subcylindrical, slightly broadened upwards, glabrous except for a few hairs along the upper suture, green mottled dull purple before maturity, 20–32-seeded. Seeds 1.5–2 mm long, oblique-cordiform, blue-green, smooth. |
| Type location: |
Angola |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | spartea: sparse or scattered, in reference to the lax inflorescence |
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| Altitude range: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | Dec - Apr |
| Worldwide distribution: | Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa (Northern Provinces) |
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| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Drummond, R.B. (1972). A list of Rhodesian Legumes. Kirkia 8(2) Page 218. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 47. Martins, E.S. et al. (2003). Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(7) Pages 151 - 153. (Includes a picture). Ntore, S. & al. (2024). Checklist of the vascular plants of Burundi Page 119. Troupin, G. (1983). Fabaceae (Papilionaceae) Flore du Rwanda Spermatophytes Volume II Page 131. |
Other sources of information about Crotalaria spartea:
Our websites:
Flora of Burundi: Crotalaria sparteaFlora of Malawi: Crotalaria spartea
Flora of Mozambique: Crotalaria spartea
Flora of Zambia: Crotalaria spartea
Flora of Zimbabwe: Crotalaria spartea
External websites:
African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Crotalaria sparteaAfrican Plant Database: Crotalaria spartea
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Crotalaria spartea
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Crotalaria spartea
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Crotalaria spartea
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Crotalaria spartea
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Crotalaria spartea
JSTOR Plant Science: Crotalaria spartea
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Crotalaria spartea
Plants of the World Online: Crotalaria spartea
Tropicos: Crotalaria spartea
Wikipedia: Crotalaria spartea