Crotalaria shirensis (Baker f.) Milne-Redh.

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Synonyms:	Crotalaria bongensis Baker f. var. shirensis Baker f.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Slender, erect, branched annual, 5-30 cm tall. Leaves simple, subsessile, linear-oblong to narrowly elliptic, 2-6 cm long; stipules 1-3 mm long. Flowers in slender, laxly 1-3-flowered racemes. Standard pale yellow inside with a darker red-fringed mark at the base, reddish veined and hairless outside; wings brighter yellow, shorter than the keel; keel bent at right angles with a forward pointing beak, 4-6 mm long. Pod 8-13 mm long, sparsely pubescent, 15-20-seeded.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	shirensis: of the Shire Highlands in Malawi, where Buchanan collected the type specimen.
Habitat:	On sandy and clay soils in miombo woodland, short grassland and disturbed places, often in soil pockets on rocky outcrops
Altitude range:
Flowering time:	Mar
Worldwide distribution:	FZ distribution: Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe. Global: Cameroon, Central African Republic, D.R. Congo, Burundi, Kenya, to Zimbabwe and Angola
Mozambique distribution:	N
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Friday 23 December 2011
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 156. Drummond, R.B. (1972). A list of Rhodesian Legumes. Kirkia 8(2) Page 218. 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 47. Martins, E.S. et al. (2003). Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(7) Pages 162 - 164. (Includes a picture). Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 59. Polhill, R.M. (1982). Crotalaria in Africa and Madagascar. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam. Pages 242 - 243. (Includes a picture). Polhill, R.M. (2003). Flora Zambesiaca 3(7) Pages 162 - 164. (Includes a picture).

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Flora of Burundi: Crotalaria shirensis
Flora of Malawi: Crotalaria shirensis
Flora of Zambia: Crotalaria shirensis
Flora of Zimbabwe: Crotalaria shirensis

External websites:

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