Tephrosia andrewii Cowie

Scientific Description

Erect, shrub, spindly shrub (broom-like). Stems terete, not spiny, hairy; pustules or glands absent. Leaves or phylloclades clearly present, compound, alternate, continuous with stem, 35-70 mm long, hairy, with simple hairs, flat with flat margins; margins entire; tubercles absent, leaflets 5, pinnately arranged, terminal leaflet present, stalked; pustules or glands absent. Stipules present and persistent to older leaves, 5.5 mm long, without glands, ribless. Pedicel present, 3-4 mm long, hairy. Bracteoles present and persistent. Calyx 11-14 mm long, not accrescent, hairy, with simple hairs, ribless; pustules or glands absent. Corolla 14-16 mm long, uniformly coloured, orange; claws present; standard 12-14.5 mm long, hairy at least in part, not auriculate, wings 9-10 mm long, not auriculate, keel 10-12 mm long, not beaked, not auriculate, hairy at least in part. Stamens ten; anthers 0.7-0.8 mm long, at two different levels (filaments alternately long and short); filaments united in an open sheath with one free stamen, 9-11 mm long. Ovary stipitate, hairy or glandular; style 12-14.5 mm long, hairy or glandular towards the base, bearded (with a tuft of hairs at apex), flattened at apex. Fruit dehiscent (a pod or follicle), 35-40 mm long, 6-7 mm wide, stipitate, constricted between the seeds, round in cross-section, hairy, with simple hairs, not beaked. Flowers in April and October. Occurs in the Northern Botanical Province, in the Dampierland IBRA regions. Conservation Code Priority Three (P3).