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Leguminosae
Synonyms
prostrata M.E. Jones.
Common names
Sticky stylo (Australia); poor man's friend (Jamaica).
Description
An ascending and spreading or prostrate and matted, much-branched,
perennial legume. Stems to 1 m long, densely pubescent with short viscid
hairs. Leaflets to 25 mm long, 5 mm wide but usually much smaller, acute
or obtuse, punctate beneath, shortly hairy or hispidulous, with two to
four pairs of conspicuous veins. Petioles 2.5 to 5.0 mm long, hispidulous,
viscid. Rachis 1 to 2 mm long. Sheath of the stipules 3.5 to 5.5 mm long,
1 to 2 mm longer than the teeth, hispidulous and viscid on the back, three-
to five-nerved. Inflorescence a small, crowded ovoid spike, two- to five-flowered.
Outer bracts usually trifoliate. Inner bract unifoliate, the sheath equalling
or slightly exceeding the teeth, hispidulous and viscid on the back, five-
to seven-nerved. Calyx tube 3 to 7 mm long, glabrous to pubescent. Standard
sub-orbiculate, 4 to 7 mm long. Wings 4 to 5 mm long, auriculate, spurred
within at the base. Keel petals 3 to 4 mm long, falcate. Loment to 2.5
mm long, shortly hairy, reticulately nerved. Beak short, less than half
as long as the upper articulation, usually from one-third to one-quarter
as long, shortly hairy, strongly uncinate, often coiled (Mohlenbrock, 1957).
Distribution
S. prostrata occurs from southern coastal Texas, United States,
to Baja California and Sinaloa in Mexico, through Central America and some
Caribbean islands into tropical South America and as far south as Paraguay,
often on sandy soils.
General features
S. prostrata has proved to be one of the better adapted of
the introduced Stylosanthes spp. in northern Australia. A frequent but
erratically expressed lack of palatability has to date prevented the release
of a commercial cultivar. In fact, it could confer weed potential on some
accessions.
Its natural latitudinal range is 29°S to 29°N. It occurs on
both acid and neutral soils, mostly in open scrub or woodland, or in fully
exposed positions. The soils are generally well drained, sandy or loamy,
composed mainly of sedimentary or granitic materials (Williams et al.,
1984).
Agronomically, S. prostrata is very similar to S. scabra, although
taxonomically it is clearly a different species. Only a small fraction
of the variation available has been tested to date and, with its wide range
of adaptation, it should be much more closely examined, especially if the
reasons for erratic palatability can be determined (Burt et al., 1983).
Main references
Burt et al. (1983); Williams et al. (1984).
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