Fabaceae
Dolichos

Dolichos lualabensis R.Wilczek

First published in Bull. Jard. Bot. État Bruxelles 24: 417 (1954)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tanzania to Zambia. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Prostrate herb up to c. 40 cm long, arising from a perennial horizontal rootstock, flowering whilst leaves are immature; rootstock tuberous, up to 60 × 20 cm.
Morphology Stem
Stems annual, unbranched, zigzag, covered with spreading pubescence.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 1-foliolate; leaflet 4–18 × 2–8 cm, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, acute at the apex, rounded to subcordate at the base, pubescent on both surfaces, more densely so on veins of lower surface, 3–5-veined from the base; petiole 3–7 mm long; stipules 15–25 × 3–10 mm, ovate to lanceolate, glabrous except for the margins, striate; stipels minute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers axillary, in pairs or in 3–17-flowered fascicles; pedicels 10–40 mm long, pilose; bracts absent; bracteoles minute, linear.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx spreading white pubescent; tube 3 mm long; lobes 1–3 mm long, triangular, upper pair fused along most of their length.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard purple or greenish-brown with purple flushing outside or inside, 14–20 × 12–20 mm, round or almost so; wings purple; keel paler or white.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary 5–10 mm long, linear-oblong, compressed, tomentose; style 5–7 mm long, stigma minute, terminal, capitate, penicillate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods 5–6.5 × 1–1.2 cm, oblanceolate, shortly stipitate, sparsely pubescent on the surfaces, with spreading hairs on the margins, 3–5-seeded.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds dark reddish-brown, 6–8 × 5–6 × 2–3 mm, oblong or rounded, compressed.
[FZ]

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

Morphology General Habit
Prostrate perennial herb about 40 cm. long from a large tuberous root 20 cm. long, 6 cm. wide, beginning to flower just before the leaves appear or whilst they are very young.
Morphology Stem
Stems mostly simple, zigzag, covered with spreading white hairs.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves unifoliolate; leaflet elliptic to elliptic -lanceolate, 4·5–18 cm. long, 1·5–8 cm. wide, acute at the apex, rounded to almost subcordate at the base, pubescent on both surfaces but particularly on the nerves beneath, 3–5-nerved from the base, but other lateral nerves obscure the effect, so that the leaflet is not so characteristically 3-nerved as in other species; petiole 3–7 mm. long; stipules ovate to lanceolate, 1–2·5 cm. long, 0·2–1 cm. wide, forming conspicuous bracts for the fascicles of flowers in young shoots, glabrous or almost so but margins ciliate, veined.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers numerous in axillary fascicles; rhachis attaining 2·5 cm.; pedicels 1–4 cm. long, pilose; bracteoles minute, linear.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx with spreading white hairs; tube ± 3 mm. long; lobes triangular, 1·5–3 mm. long, the upper pair joined for ± three-quarters of their length to form a bifid lobe.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard purple or greenish-brown with purple flushing or lining, almost round, ± 1–1·4 cm. long, 1–1·2 cm. wide; wings purple; keel paler or white.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods oblanceolate, somewhat stipitate, 5·5–6·5 cm. long, 1–1·2 cm. wide, very sparsely pubescent on the faces, margins with denser spreading hairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds dark reddish-brown, oblong or rounded, compressed, longest dimension 6–8 mm., shorter dimension 5·5 mm., 2·5 mm. thick.
Distribution
As above with addition of Congo
[FTEA]

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: low confidence
[AERP]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Zambezian grassland
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Herb
[ILDIS]

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

  • 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 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