Indigofera kuntzei Harms

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Road to Mueredze, Gorongosa National Park, Muanza.

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Synonyms:	Indigofera faulknerae J.B. Gillett
Common names:
Frequency:	Occasional
Status:	Native
Description:	Erect to spreading annual or bushy perennial herb to 0.6 m tall, arising from a woody taproot. Stems many-branched, yellowish to red or purple, ± densely grey to white woolly, villous or sericeous with long, very unequally biramous hairs; densely scattered with reddish pearl bodies. Stipules 4–15 × 1–3.5(4) mm, 3–4 times as long as wide, mostly more than twice petiole length, obliquely lanceolate, acuminate, apex sometimes with a minute stalked gland (more frequently so in juvenile specimens), base rounded-cordate, oblique, sparsely to densely sericeous to villous. Leaves pinnately (3)5–7-foliolate, lateral leaflets sometimes smaller; leaf axis 4–26 mm long including (1)2–6 mm petiole, rachis extended 1–5 mm beyond lateral leaflets; stipels sometimes present; terminal leaflet 6–19 × 2–8 mm, elliptic-oblong to oblanceolate or lanceolate, up to 3 times as long as wide, apex acute to obtuse, base rounded, densely sericeous to villous with long hairs, coarsely strigose with ± equally biramous hairs above, ± densely villous to sericeous belowh with long hairs only; leaflets sometimes tipped with minute stalked glands. Inflorescence on younger shoots of short 1–2(3)-flowered racemes in axils of well developed or reduced bract-like leaves, or comprising condensed lateral shoots, ± paniculate with overlapping racemes obscuring much reduced leaves; racemes 2–4 mm long, subsessile or including a peduncle to 1–2 mm long; bracts 1.5–3 mm long, linear-lanceolate to subulate, caducous; pedicels 0.5–1 mm long, spreading to reflexed. Calyx 2.5–3.5 mm long, sericeous to villous, tube c.0.5 mm long, lobes 2–3 mm long, linear-attenuate, sometimes tipped with minute stalked glands in juvenile specimens. Corolla 4.5–5.5 mm long, red; standard dorsal surface hyaline-pubescent, distal margin of keel sparsely pilose to subglabrous, keel apex obtuse. Stamens 3.5–4 mm long, slightly exceeding calyx. Style 2–2.5 mm long, bending to erect in middle. Pods 3.5–6 × 1.5–2 mm, ovoid to oblong or subcylindrical, spreading to reflexed, silky-villous, apex acute, style-base persistent forming a beak; endocarp with 2 stripes of tannin deposits. Seeds 1–4, c.1.5 × 1.2 mm, squarish, pale coloured.
Notes:	This species belongs to a group of similar, related taxa, including I. eylesiana from Zimbabwe and I. inhambanensis. Both those species are distinguished by the strictly 3-foliolate leaves.
Derivation of specific name:	kuntzei: after Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (1843-1907), German botanist, author and collector.
Habitat:	Woodland margins, secondary grassland and old cultivated lands, in deep white sand, often in overgrazed areas
Altitude range:	0 - 300 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.
Mozambique distribution:	Z,MS
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:	Sunday 2 October 2022
Literature:	Schrire, B.D. (2012). Papilionoideae-Indigofereae Flora Zambesiaca 3(4) Pages 148 - 149.

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Flora of Malawi: Indigofera kuntzei

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