3718.000 Tephrosia Pers.

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs. Hairs basifixed. Leaves usually imparipinnate, rarely palmate or 1-foliolate; leaflets opposite or subopposite, often silky, entire, usually narrowed at base and widest above middle, often with a prominent marginal nerve. Flowers 2 or more together in leaf axils or at the nodes of pseudoracemes, which are sometimes condensed and appearing subcapitate or subumbellate. Calyx 5-lobed, the upper 2 lobes often ± united. Corolla usually reddish-purple; standard pubescent outside. Upper filament lightly attached to others, less often free; other filaments fused for 2/3 to 4/5 of their length. Ovary pubescent, sessile. Pod linear or oblong, ± flattened, beaked, usually dehiscent. Seeds may be longitudinal (long axis parallel to that of pod), transverse or oblique. Aril almost 0 to well-developed.

Worldwide: 400 species in warm regions, mostly Africa and Australia

Zambia: 57 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Mocis mayeri (Brown Lines) Larval food plant
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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
acaciifolia Welw. ex BakerC,E,SDescription, Image
aequilata BakerNDescription, Image
aurantiaca Harms N
bracteolata Guill. & Perr. var. strigulosa Brummitt N
caerulea Baker f. subsp. caerulea B,C,S
cephalantha Welw. ex Baker var. decumbens Welw. ex BakerB,N,W,C,S
chisumpae Brummitt B
coronilloides Welw. ex Baker[LR-lc]B
curvata De Wild. N,W
dasyphylla Baker subsp. amplissima Brummitt W
dasyphylla Welw. ex Baker subsp. dasyphylla N,W,CDescription, Image
decora Welw. ex BakerN,W,C,E,S
elata Deflers subsp. heckmanniana (Harms) Brummitt var. heckmanniana N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
elata Deflers subsp. heckmanniana (Harms) Brummitt var. abercornensis Brummitt N
euprepes BrummittB,E,S
hockii De Wild. subsp. hirsutostylosa (De Wit) J.B.Gillett [NrEnd]WDescription, Image
hockii De Wild. subsp. hockii [NrEnd]NDescription
interrupta Engl. subsp. elongatiflora J.B. GillettEImage
kasikiensis Baker f. N,W
kasikiensis Baker f subsp. chinsaliana Brummitt[VU]Description
kindu De Wild. N,W
laxiflora R.E. Fr. B,N,W,C,S
lepida Baker f. subsp. lepida N,W,C,S
lepida Baker f. subsp. nigrescens Brummitt N
linearis (Willd.) Pers. var. linearis B,N,C,E,S
linearis (Willd.) Pers. var. discolor (E. Mey.) BrummittN,S
linearis (Willd.) Pers.[Agg]B,N,C,E,SDescription, Image
longipes Meisn. var. longipes C,S
longipes × reptans C
lupinifolia DC.B,N,W,C,SDescription, Image
lurida Sond.Description, Image
malvina Brummitt N,W,C
micrantha J.B. GillettN,W,C,S
muenzneri Harms subsp. pedalis Brummitt [DD]E
nana KotschyN,W
noctiflora Bojer ex BakerSDescription, Image
paniculata Baker subsp. paniculata B,N,W,C,E
paradoxa BrummittN
pumila (Lam.) Pers. var. pumila C,E
punctata J.B.Gillett subsp. punctata N
punctata J.B.Gillett subsp. redheadii Brummitt N,W
purpurea (L.) Pers. subsp. leptostachya (DC.) Brummitt var. delagoensis (H.M.L. Forbes) BrummittBDescription
purpurea (L.) Pers. subsp. leptostachya (DC.) BrummittB,N,W,C,SDescription, Image
purpurea (L.) Pers. subsp. leptostachya (DC.) Brummitt var. pubescens BakerB,N,W,C,SDescription
radicans Welw. ex BakerB,N,W,C,SDescription, Image
reptans Baker var. arenicola BrummittN
reptans Baker var. reptans C,S
rhodesica Baker f. var. rhodesica B,N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
rhodesica Baker f. var. polystachyoides (Baker f.) BrummittS
richardsiae J.B.Gillett subsp. erucifera Brummitt [LR-lc]N,C
richardsiae J.B.Gillett subsp. richardsiae [NrEnd]NDescription, Image
ringoetii Baker f. N,W
robinsoniana Brummitt [DD]C
stormsii De Wild. var. pilosa Brummitt N,C
stormsii De Wild. var. stormsii N,W,C,E,S
vogelii Hook. f.B,N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
zambiana Brummitt [DD]N

Other sources of information about Tephrosia:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Tephrosia
Flora of Burundi: Tephrosia
Flora of Caprivi: Tephrosia
Flora of Malawi: Tephrosia
Flora of Mozambique: Tephrosia
Flora of Zimbabwe: Tephrosia

External websites:

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

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Nicholas Wightman, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-25

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wightman, N., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2025). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Tephrosia.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=726, retrieved 2 April 2025

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