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This species is accepted, and its native range is W. Tropical Africa to Eritrea and Tanzania, Arabian Peninsula.

[FSOM]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Habit
Perennial, up to 40 cm tall
Indumentum
Stems, leaf-rhachides and inflorescences ± densely strigose, the hairs often spreading at the tips
Leaves
Leaf-rhachis up to 30 mm long including a petiole of 1–7 mm
Leaflets
Leaflets 2–7, alternate, lanceolate-oblong, the terminal largest, up to 45 x 18 mm, strigose on both sides
Stipules
Stipules narrow, hardly scarious, without a glabrescent margin
Inflorescences
Racemes up to 7(–15) cm long including the peduncle
Calyx
Calyx 3.5–6 mm long, divided almost to the base into setaceous lobes
Corolla
Standard pubescent outside
Stamens
Stamens 3.5–5 mm long
Fruits
Pod up to 15 x 2 mm, straight, deflexed, 5–8-seeded.
Distribution
N1–3; C1, 2; S1, 2; Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania
Ecology
Altitude range 0–1800 m.
Vernacular
Geed-xajiin, nagaro (Somali).
Note
I. volkensii is very variable, particularly in number and size of leaflets, indumentum and flower size. It is taken here in a broad sense, including also I. sesquijuga and I. viridiflora which have, up to now, been regarded as distinct species. The related and widespread I. spicata Forssk., with stipules with a broad scarious base and glabrescent at the margin, almost certainly occurs in Somalia but has not yet been recorded.

[ILDIS]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Somalia-Masai bushland and thicket, Somalia-Masai grasslands, Somalia-Masai anthropic landscapes
Habit
Annual/Perennial, Not climbing, Herb

[FTEA]

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

Habit
Branching herb up to 40 cm. tall from a perennial rootstock; stems, inflorescences, stipules and leaf-rhachides ± densely strigose or pilose, the hairs often spreading at the tips.
Leaves
Stipules rather scarious at the broad base, tapering to a setaceous tip, up to 8 mm. long; rhachis up to 25 mm. long, including a petiole of 1–5 mm., produced up to 5 mm. beyond lateral leaflets; leaflets 3–7, alternate, lanceolate-oblong, the terminal much larger than the lateral, up to 45 mm. long and 15 mm. wide, strigose on both surfaces.
Inflorescences
Racemes diffusely strigose, up to 7 cm. long, including a peduncle of 1–2.5 cm.; bracts lanceolate, up to 4 mm. long, diffusely strigose, caducous; pedicels ± 1 mm. long, reflexed after flowering.
Calyx
Calyx strigose, 4–6 mm. long, divided almost to the base into setaceous lobes, the lower much longer than the upper.
Corolla
Corolla strigose-pubescent outside, very caducous.
Stamens
Stamens 4–5 mm. long.
Fruits
Pod straight, rather tetragonal, up to 15 mm. long, ± 2 mm. wide, 5–8-seeded.
Figures
Fig. 46/1–16, p. 316.
Habitat
Acacia, Commiphora bushland, scattered tree grassland and as a weed in cultivated areas; 200–2200 m.; rainfall 250–1000 mm.
Distribution
SE. Sudan, S. Ethiopia K1 K2 K3 K4 K6 K7 T1 T2 T3 T5 T6 U1

[FTEA]

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

Habit
Annual or short-lived perennial procumbent herb.
Indumentum
Indumentum of white biramous hairs rather dense and nearly always appressed on stems and leaves, somewhat spreading on inflorescence, calyx and fruit.
Leaves
Stipules narrowly linear-lanceolate, subfalcate; leaf-rhachis up to 15 mm. long, including a petiole of up to 7 mm.; leaflets 2–4, broadly elliptic, obtuse, the terminal one larger than the lateral and up to 20 mm. long and 15 mm. wide, the hairs on the upper surface more slender than those beneath.
Inflorescences
Raceme up to 9 cm. long including a peduncle up to 3.5 cm. long; flowers numerous; pedicels ± 1 mm. long in fruit.
Calyx
Calyx pilose, deeply divided, about as long as the 3.5 mm. long stamens.
Fruits
Pod straight, ± 12 mm. long and 2 mm. wide, 6–7-seeded; endocarp with pale spots in 4 longitudinal bands.
Seeds
Seeds cuboid, orange.
Habitat
Semi-desert grassland at edge of riverine forest; 780 m.
Distribution
K2

[ILDIS]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Somalia-Masai grasslands
Habit
Annual/Perennial, Not climbing, Herb

Native to:

Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen

Indigofera volkensii Taub. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
Volkens, G. [1738], Tanzania K000392955 isotype
James [s.n.], Somalia Indigofera phillipsiae K000392793 Unknown type material
Schweinfurth, G. [247] Indigofera insularis K000392794 isotype

First published in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas, C: 210 (1895)

Accepted by

  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Mosti, S., Raffaelli, M. & Tardelli, M. (2012). Contributions to the flora of central-southern Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman) Webbia; Raccolta de Scritti Botanici 67: 65-91.
  • Fischer, E., Rembold, K., Althof, A. & Obholzer, J. (2010). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Kakamega forest, Western province, Kenya Journal of East African Natural History 99: 129-226.
  • Ghazanfar, S.A. (2007). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman. volume 2. Crassulaceae - Apiaceae Scripta Botanica Belgica 36: 1-220.
  • Thulin, M. (ed.) (1993). Flora of Somalia 1: 1-493. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1989 publ. 1990). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 3: 1-659. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Lock, J.M. (1989). Legumes of Africa a check-list: 1-619. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Mosti, S., Raffaelli, M. & Tardelli, M. (2012). Contributions to the flora of central-southern Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman) Webbia; Raccolta de Scritti Botanici 67: 65-91.
  • Fischer, E., Rembold, K., Althof, A. & Obholzer, J. (2010). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Kakamega forest, Western province, Kenya Journal of East African Natural History 99: 129-226.
  • Ghazanfar, S.A. (2007). Flora of the Sultanate of Oman. volume 2. Crassulaceae - Apiaceae Scripta Botanica Belgica 36: 1-220.
  • Audru, J., Cesar, J. & Lebrun, J.-P. (1994). Les Plantes Vasculaires de la République de Djibouti. Flore Illustrée 1: 1-336. CIRAD, Départerment d'Elevage et de Médecine vétérinaire, Djibouti.

Flora of Somalia

  • Flora Somalia, Vol 1, (1993) Author: by M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Gillett in Kew Bulletin, Add. Ser. 1: 118 (1958).
  • J.P.M. Brenan, Check-lists of the Forest Trees and Shrubs of the British Empire no. 5, part II, Tanganyika Territory p. 428 (1949).
  • Taub. in Die Pflanzenwelt Ost-Afrikas und der Nachbargebiete, Theile C: 210 (1895).

International Legume Database and Information Service

  • Gillett, J. B. et al. (1971). Papilionoideae. In: Fl. Trop. E. Africa, Milne-Redhead & Polhill

Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
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
'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
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 Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0