Shrubs with trailing or climbing stems, herbaceous or woody towards base, arising from a large, underground tuber; tendrils usually present, forked, axillary
Leaves simple, bilobed at apex or sometimes divided almost to cordate base; lobes oval to obovate or reniform; stipules oblong to squarish, appressed to stem, persistent
Inflorescence a lateral short to elongate raceme
Flowers bisexual, irregular, medium to rather small, yellow
Calyx arising from short receptacle; sepals 5, the two upper usually completely or partly fused, others free
Petals 5; upper one bicallose at base and smaller than others
Stamens 2 fertile, (7)8 staminodial, unequal, some ± flattened
Ovary long-stalked; style elongate, with small stigma
Pod woody, dehiscent or indehiscent (1)2-seeded
Seeds large, with short U-shaped mark extending from hilum
Nomenclature:
Tylosema (Schweinf.) Torre & Hillc.
Torre & Hillcoat: 38 (1955)
Torre & Hillcoat: 194 (1956)
Brenan: 213 (1967)
Schreiber: 19 (1967)
Coetzer & Ross: 61 (1977)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species ± 4, Africa
Southern Africa: Species 2, Namibia, the four northern provinces, Swaziland, N KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape
References:
BRENAN, J.P.M. 1967. Flora of tropical East Africa. Leguminosae (part 2). Caesalpinioideae
COETZER, L.A. & ROSS, J.H. 1977. Subfamily 2. Caesalpinioideae. Flora of southern Africa 16,2
SCHREIBER, A. 1967. Caesalpiniaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 59
TORRE, A.R. DA & HILLCOAT, J.O.D. 1955. Novidades da flora de Angola por A.W. Exell e F.A. Mendonça. Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana ser. 2, 29
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