Crotalaria cleomifolia Welw. ex Baker

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Nhahomba area, Chimanimani National Reserve

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Description:	Shrubby perennial 1–4.5 m tall; branches variously velvety to spreading yellowish hairy. Leaves 3–5-foliolate; leaflets more or less narrowly elliptic, 4–12 cm long, discolorous, dark green above, greyish and usually hairy beneath; petiole shorter than the leaflets; stipules linear-caudate, 1–5 mm long. Racemes mostly 10–30 cm long, many flowered, on short peduncles; bracts linear-caudate, 2–10 mm long. Calyx 6–7 mm long, deflexed against the pedicel; lobes narrowly triangular, as long as the tube or longer. Standard elliptic, bright yellow, usually veined reddish-brown; wings markedly shorter than the keel; keel 1.2–1.7 cm long, rather strongly rounded about the middle, with a narrow beak incurved towards the tip. Pod with a short stipe, narrowly cylindric, 3.5–6 cm long, sometimes shortly curved upwards at the tip, sparsely velvety to densely spreading hairy, 30–40-seeded.
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Derivation of specific name:	cleomifolia: with leaves like a Cleome; referring to the palmately 3-5-foliolate leaves, unusual for the genus.
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Worldwide distribution:	Widespread in tropical Africa.
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Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 155. Burrows, J.E., Burrows, S.M., Lötter, M.C. & Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique Publishing Print Matters (Pty), Cape Town. Page 290. (Includes a picture). Drummond, R.B. (1972). A list of Rhodesian Legumes. Kirkia 8(2) Page 217. Drummond, R.B. (1975). A list of trees, shrubs and woody climbers indigenous or naturalised in Rhodesia. Kirkia 10(1) Page 244. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 46. Martins, E.S. et al. (2003). Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(7) Pages 144 - 146. (Includes a picture). Strugnell, A.M. (2006). A Checklist of the Spermatophytes of Mount Mulanje, Malawi Scripta Botanica Belgica 34 National Botanic Garden of Belgium Page 96.

Other sources of information about Crotalaria cleomifolia:

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Flora of Malawi: Crotalaria cleomifolia
Flora of Mozambique: Crotalaria cleomifolia
Flora of Zambia: Crotalaria cleomifolia
Flora of Zimbabwe: Crotalaria cleomifolia

External websites:

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