Polygala muratii Jacq.-Fél.

Polygalaceae, Jorge Paiva. Flora of Tropical East Africa, 2007

Type

Type: Chad, Biltine plain, Murat 641 (P!, holo.)

Morphology General Habit

Perennial or annual herb, 30–60 cm tall

Morphology Stem

Stems erect or ascending, much branched from near the base, striate, 4-angled, glabrous

Morphology Leaves

Leaves alternate, subsessile, linear to oblong-spathulate, 10–35 × 1–3 mm, mucronate, base cuneate, margin revolute, glabrous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers salmon pink, reddish-pink to yellow-orange, in lax terminal or lateral racemes 10–20 cm long; rachis glabrous; bracts linear, 1–1.3 mm long, glabrous, caducous; bracteoles linear, 0.7 mm long, glabrous, caducous; pedicels 2.5–3 mm, glabrous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Posterior sepal ovate, 1.5–1.8 mm long, ciliate; wing sepals obovate, 4.5–5.5 × 2.5–3 mm, with a long claw, 3-veined from the base and with anastomosing venation only near the base, glabrous, persistent; anterior sepals 1–1.3 mm long, ciliate, connate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Upper petals obovate-spathulate, 4.5–5 × 2.2–2.5 mm; carina 5–5.5 × 2.5 mm; crest 1.5 mm long, fimbriate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 6 fertile with 2 staminodes

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule ovate in outline, 3.5–4 × 2.5–3 mm, deeply asymmetric-bilobate and long acuminate (acumen up to 0.8 mm), glabrous, unwinged

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds conical, 2.5–3 × 1–1.3 mm, sericeous-pubescent, with the convex base completely covered by glands; caruncle pyramidal, up to 0.2 mm long, completely covered by hairs; appendages 0.2 mm long.

Ecology

Grassland, seepage grassland, thin soil over rock; 200–2000 m

Note

P. muratii, P. conosperma ( P. liniflora) and P. amboniensis have been mixed up and were usually determined as P. liniflora. The capsule of P. conosperma is slightly asymmetric-bilobate, while the other two species have the capsule strongly asymmetric-bilobate; its caruncle is kidney-shaped and almost glabrous and the seed is obovoid-ellipsoid, while P. muratii and P. amboniensis have the caruncle pyramidal and completely covered by hairs and the seeds conical. The latter two species are distinct in their habitat, as P. amboniensis occurs in lowlands not too far from the coast [0–100(–850) m] and P. muratii at higher altitudes (200–2000 m); and by the wing sepals, which are early caducous in the former, but persistent in the latter. There is another species in the area of this Flora with conical seeds and pyramidal caruncle: P. irregularis, but this one has the anterior sepals free, while the other two have the anterior sepals connate.

Distribution

Range: Chad, Sudan and Ethiopia Flora districts: U1 K1 K2 K3 K4 K6 K7 T1 T2 T5 T6