Rhynchosia malacophylla (Spreng.) Boj.

Leguminosae

Synonyms

• Rhynchosia sennaarensis Hochst. ex Schweinf.
• Rhynchosia flavissima (Hochst.) Hochst. ex Baker

Common names

Keptanya, Mantuya

Description

Perennial trailing or twining almost glabrous herb, up to 3 m long, trifoliate, central foliole 2.5 x 4 cm, the lateral very inequal, glabrous on both faces or slightly pubescent, with golden glands underneath ; yellow flowers 1.5 cm long, clustered in lax racemes of 5-10 cm, with 6-12 flowers. Pods 2 cm long, glabrous.

Water

Occurs in areas with rainfall in excess of 500 mm MAR.

Distribution

Native to southern Sahelian and northern Sudanian ecozones of the Central part of the Rep. of Sudan, and to the semi-arid areas of East Africa.

Products & uses

Regarded as a promising forage legume in the semi-arid lands of North Tanzania in the 1960's, with recorded yields of 12 t DM / ha/ yr. We are not aware of any follow-up.

References

Andrews 1952 ; Gillett et al. 1971 ; Berhaut 1976 ; Baumer 1975 ; Skerman et al. 1991.