Fabaceae
Galactia

Galactia striata (Jacq.) Urb.

First published in Symb. Antill. 2: 320 (1900)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropics & Subtropics. It is a climbing perennial or subshrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is used as a medicine and has environmental uses.

Descriptions

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean, Caribbean, Orinoquia. Elevation range: 25–2000 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Atlántico, Bolívar, Boyacá, Cauca, Cesar, Córdoba, Cundinamarca, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Nariño, Santander, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vichada.
Habit
Herb, Liana, Climbing.
Conservation
National Red List of Colombia (2021): Potential LC.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit
A slender and often elongate herbaceous vine, the stems finely pubescent; leaflets elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 2.5–8 cm long, mucronate at the apex, the upper side glabrate and with finely prominulous venation, the underside rather densely appressed-pubescent.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence up to 15 cm long but often less, short- to long-pedunculate; flowers paired at the nodes; calyx appressed-pubescent, 5–7 mm long, with narrowly lance-acuminate lobes; corolla 8–9 mm long, light rose-violet, the standard, wings and keel of about equal length
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods 4–5 cm long, ca. 5 mm broad, pubescent.
Distribution
Gand Cayman. Florida, West Indies and continental tropical America.
Ecology
In thickets and woodlands.
Note
Over its wide range this is an extremely variable species; the above description is based chiefly on Cayman material.
[Cayman]

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: Lake Victoria regional transition zone; grasslands, Sudanian wooded grassland, Zanzibar-Inhambane regional transition zone; bushland and thicket., Lake Victoria regional mosaic; wooded grassland, Somalia-Masai grasslands, Sudanian grasslands, Zamb
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Climbing, Herb
Vernacular
Guatabito
[ILDIS]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 25 - 2000 m.; Andes, Llanura del Caribe, Orinoquia, Valle del Cauca, Valle del Magdalena.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba, trepadora, liana
Conservation
Preocupación Menor
[CPLC]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
frijolillo
[UNAL]

Leguminosae, B. Mackinder, R. Pasquet, R. Polhill and B. Verdcourt. Flora Zambesiaca 3:5. 2001

Morphology General Habit
Perennial climbing or trailing herb 0.6–4 m long from a woody rootstock.
Morphology Stem
Stems slender, finely pubescent to velvety.
Morphology Leaves Leaflets
Leaflets 3, paler beneath, (2)4–9 × 0.8–3.7(4.5) cm, oblong, oblong-obovate or oblong-elliptic, rounded or emarginate and mucronulate at the apex, rounded or faintly subcordate at the base, sparsely appressed pubescent above, glabrescent to more densely appressed pubescent or velvety beneath; petioles 2–5 cm long; rhachis 0.5–1.5 cm long; petiolules 2–3 mm long; stipules 3–5 mm long, linear.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes lax, (1)2–10- or many-flowered, the flowers in groups of 1–3; rhachis 2–5(28) cm long; peduncles (3)7–17.5 cm long; pedicels 1.5–2 mm long; bracts and bracteoles (1.2)2–2.5 mm long, ovate-lanceolate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx pubescent; tube 2.5–3 mm long; lobes 3.5–6(7) mm long, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, the lowest the longest.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard whitish, pale lilac or pinkish-mauve and purple, 1–1.2 cm × 4–5 mm, elliptic or oblong-obovate, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods (1.5)3–6(8) cm × 4–7.5(10) mm, linear-oblong, finely appressed pubescent and sometimes also with long hairs, usually 6–12-seeded, but rarely 1-seeded (but not geocarpous) pods occur.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds yellowish-brown to dark blackish-red, mottled or suffused with grey, 3.5–5.5 × 2.5–3.5 × 2–2.5 mm.
[FZ]

Uses

Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Use
Forage, Miscellaneous
[ILDIS]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • 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 Vascular Plants 2025. 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

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. 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

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0