3718.000 Tephrosia Pers.

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs. Hairs basifixed. Leaves usually imparipinnate, rarely palmate or 1-foliolate; leaflets opposite or subopposite, often silky, entire, usually narrowed at base and widest above middle, often with a prominent marginal nerve. Flowers 2 or more together in leaf axils or at the nodes of pseudoracemes, which are sometimes condensed and appearing subcapitate or subumbellate. Calyx 5-lobed, the upper 2 lobes often ± united. Corolla usually reddish-purple; standard pubescent outside. Upper filament lightly attached to others, less often free; other filaments fused for 2/3 to 4/5 of their length. Ovary pubescent, sessile. Pod linear or oblong, ± flattened, beaked, usually dehiscent. Seeds may be longitudinal (long axis parallel to that of pod), transverse or oblique. Aril almost 0 to well-developed.

Worldwide: 400 species in warm regions, mostly Africa and Australia

Caprivi: 11 taxa.

The larvae of the following species of insect eat species of this genus:
Mocis mayeri (Brown Lines)
Tephrosia purpurea subsp. leptostachya

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
acaciifolia Welw. ex BakerDescription, Image
amoena E. Mey.
burchellii Burtt Davy
caerulea Baker f. subsp. caerulea
caerulea Baker f. subsp. otaviensis (Dinter) Schreiber & Brummitt
cephalantha Welw. ex Baker var. decumbens Welw. ex Baker
dregeana E. Mey. var. dregeana
lupinifolia DC.Description, Image
purpurea (L.) Pers. subsp. leptostachya (DC.) BrummittDescription, Image
purpurea (L.) Pers. subsp. leptostachya (DC.) Brummitt var. pubescens BakerDescription
villosa (L.) Pers. subsp. ehrenbergiana (Schweinf.) Brummitt var. daviesii BrummittDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Tephrosia:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Tephrosia
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Tephrosia
Flora of Malawi: Tephrosia
Flora of Mozambique: Tephrosia
Flora of Zambia: Tephrosia
Flora of Zimbabwe: Tephrosia

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Tephrosia
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Tephrosia
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Tephrosia
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Tephrosia
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Tephrosia
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Tephrosia
JSTOR Plant Science: Tephrosia
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Tephrosia
Plants of the World Online: Tephrosia
Tropicos: Tephrosia
Wikipedia: Tephrosia

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Caprivi: Genus page: Tephrosia.
https://www.capriviflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=726, retrieved 29 March 2024

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