Lotus discolor E. Mey.
subsp. discolor

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Kaperekeza road, Nyika National Park

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Synonyms:	Lotus brandianus Harms Lotus discolor E. Mey. var. cacondensis Hiern ex Baker f. Lotus tigrensis Baker
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Perennial herb with erect or sometimes scrambling purple tinged stems, appressed hairy, growing from a woody rootstock. Leaves usually well spaced, 5-foliolate; leaf rhachis usually 1.5–6 mm long, appressed hairy; leaflets oblanceolate to obovate, 5–18 mm long, 2–4 times as long as wide, apical leaflets longest; all leaflets appressed hairy on both surfaces. Flowers in usually 5–6-flowered umbels; peduncle 2–9 cm long, occasionally longer. Calyx light green often purple-tinged, appressed pubescent; teeth 1.5–3 mm long, triangular. Corolla white or cream, the standard sometimes veined with purple, the keel with purple tip; standard 7–9 mm long, usually shorter than the wings, margins infolded over 4–5 mm from the base, the upper third wider and abruptly bent upward; wings 9–11 mm long; keel c. 1 mm shorter than the wings. Pod up to 35 mm long but often much shorter, reddish-brown to greyish-brown.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	discolor: not of the same colour
Habitat:	Montane grassland, miombo woodland and along margins of evergreen.
Altitude range:	1230 - 2280 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Angola, eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, eastern DRC, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, ?Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa.
Mozambique distribution:	N,T
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:	Wednesday 12 September 2018
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 164. (Includes a picture). Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 37. Da Silva, M.C., Izidine, S. & Amude, A.B. (2004). A preliminary checklist of the vascular plants of Mozambique. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 30 Sabonet, Pretoria Page 70. As Lotus discolor Martins, E.S. et al. (2003). Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(7) Pages 6 - 7. Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 62. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 94.

Other sources of information about Lotus discolor subsp. discolor:

Our websites:

Flora of Malawi: Lotus discolor subsp. discolor
Flora of Zambia: Lotus discolor subsp. discolor

External websites:

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