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  1. Family: Fabaceae Lindl.
    1. Genus: Lotus L.

      1. Lotus goetzei Harms

        This species is accepted, and its native range is Ethiopia to S. Tropical Africa.

    [FZ]

    Leguminosae, various authors. Flora Zambesiaca 3:7. 2003

    Habit
    Subshrub up to 50 cm tall from a woody rootstock.
    Stem
    Stems erect, ascending or prostrate and up to 1(2) m long and up to 3 mm in diameter, woody below, pilose with ± dense white spreading hairs up to 1 mm long, the epidermis dark purple when dry.
    Leaves
    Leaves very variable in size, only the leaf base and rhachis persisting on older branches; basal leaflets asymmetrical, up to 15 × 8 mm, rhombic with the basal angle usually 70–90º; lateral and apical leaflets up to 18 × 7 mm, the apical one a little longer than the lateral ones, cuneate-obovate; all leaflets with margins revolute, pilose on upper and lower surfaces with spreading hairs up to 1.5(3) mm long, or subglabrous but with some hairs on the midrib and margins, subcoriaceous, densely marked with purple dots on upper surface and purple dots or wavy lines beneath; rhachis 1.5–2.5(?6) mm long, usually less than half the length of the basal leaflets; stipular glands purple, minute.
    Inflorescences
    Umbels 2–5-flowered; peduncle 0.5–4 cm long, pubescent; foliage leaf on the peduncle usually 3-foliolate; pedicels 1–2 mm long, pubescent.
    Calyx
    Calyx reddish, with ± sparse, spreading hairs up to 1.5 mm long; hypanthium c. 1.5 mm long; calyx tube c. 2 mm above the insertion of the stamens; calyx lobes 2.5–3.5 × 1.2–1.5 mm, triangular-acuminate.
    Corolla
    Corolla white or cream, the standard streaked with red and, at least when dry, the tip of the keel reddish or purplish; standard 8.5–10 × 4–5.5 mm, slightly violin-shaped, wedge-shaped at the base, retuse; wings 8.5–9 mm long including the 3 mm long claw, the blade oblong, laterally pouched, auriculate, the auricles of both wings often adhering to each other; keel c. 10 mm long including claws 3–3.5 mm long, curved, pointed.
    Filaments
    Filament sheath c. 6 mm long, often papillose near the base; free parts of the shorter filaments c. 2 mm long, those of the longer filaments c. 3 mm long.
    Pistil
    Ovary c. 7 mm long, glabrous, c. 26-ovulate; style 4 mm long, slightly curved upwards.
    Fruits
    Pod brownish-red, up to 25 × 2.2 mm, terete.
    Seeds
    Seeds 16 or less, c. 1.1 mm long, ovoid.
    [ILDIS]

    International Legume Database and Information Service

    Conservation
    Not Threatened
    Ecology
    Africa: Afromontane(upland) bushland and thicket., Afromontane grassland
    Habit
    Perennial, Not climbing, Herb
    [FTEA]

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

    Habit
    Perennial; rootstock massive, woody; stems prostrate, ascending or bushy, up to 3 mm. in diameter, and up to 1(–2) m. in height, the epidermis a dark purple or blackish-red when dry, often obscured by dense white or slightly fulvous spreading hairs up to 1 mm. long; internodes on the side branches often very short (under 5 mm.).
    Leaves
    Leaves very variable in size, on old stunted shoots ± 4 mm. overall, including a rhachis of 1 mm., on young vigorous shoots up to 27 mm., including a rhachis of 6 mm.; rhachis nearly always less than half as long as basal leaflets, these usually quite different in shape from the apical leaflets, usually asymmetrically oblong with the midrib running diagonally from corner to corner, basal angle commonly 70°–80°; apical leaflets cuneate-obovate, 1·5–2·5 times as long as wide; indumentum on leaves variable, but ± spreading hairs, up to ± 1 mm. long, are usually frequent, at least on the margins and lower midrib, sometimes very sparse on the lamina.
    Inflorescences
    Umbels 1–6-flowered; peduncle pubescent, 0·5–4 cm., rarely up to 8 cm. long.
    Bracts
    Bract nearly always 3-foliolate, the parts ± oblong; pedicels densely pubescent, 1–1·5 mm. long.
    Calyx
    Calyx reddish, ± pubescent with spreading hairs, the tube ± 2 mm. long below the insertion of the stamens, ± 3 mm. above; teeth triangular-acuminate, ± 3 mm. long.
    Corolla
    Corolla white, with purplish, red or pink markings; standard emarginate, ± 9 by 5 mm.; wings ± 11 mm. long including a claw of 4 mm.
    Filaments
    Filament-sheath ± 5 mm. long, sometimes papillose near the base, free parts 2 and 3 mm. long.
    Pistil
    Ovary ± 7 mm. long, ± 26-ovulate; style slightly curved upwards, ± 4 mm. long.
    Fruits
    Fruit up to 2·5 cm. long but often shorter, ± 16-or fewer seeded.
    Figures
    Fig. 146/1–12, p. 1046.
    Habitat
    Upland grassland, especially in scrub or at forest edges; 1500–3700 m., rarely below 2000 m.; rainfall over 1000 mm.
    Distribution
    K1 K3 K4 K6 T2 T7 U1 U3 also Angola (fide Torre in C.F.A. 3: 81 (1962)specimen not seen)

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda

    Lotus goetzei Harms appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Apr 8, 1954 Volkens, G. [1487], Tanzania K000226746 Unknown type material
    Apr 8, 1954 Volkens, G. [2011], Tanzania K000226747 Unknown type material
    Goetze, W. [1044], Tanzania K000226748 isotype

    First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 30: 324 (1901)

    Accepted by

    • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
    • Pope, G.V., Polhill, R.N. & Martins, E.S. (eds.) (2003). Flora Zambesiaca 3(7): 1-274. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Lock, J.M. (1989). Legumes of Africa a check-list: 1-619. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

    Literature

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    • Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
    • Pope, G.V., Polhill, R.N. & Martins, E.S. (eds.) (2003). Flora Zambesiaca 3(7): 1-274. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • Gillett in Kew Bulletin 13: 369 (1958).
    • J.P.M. Brenan, Check-lists of the Forest Trees and Shrubs of the British Empire no. 5, part II, Tanganyika Territory p. 431 (1949).
    • Harms in A. Engler, Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 30: 324 (1901).
    International Legume Database and Information Service
    • Gillett, J. B. et al. (1971). Papilionoideae. In: Fl. Trop. E. Africa, Milne-Redhead & Polhill

    Sources

    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 Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0