Description:

• Perennial climbers or trailers, often woody at base; rootstock often thick and woody
• Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; leaflets ovate or elliptic, laterals somewhat oblique, glabrous to densely velvety on both surfaces; stipules ovate or oblong-lanceolate
• Flowers small, white, in 20-150-flowered, sometimes racemose inflorescences, bracteate
• Calyx with campanulate tube, sparsely to densely hairy; lobes linear-lanceolate, ± as long as tube; 2 upper lobes ± connate
• Petals: vexillum oblate, rounded or rhomboid, sessile or shortly clawed, sometimes subauricled at base; wings narrow, slightly adnate to keel, eared, clawed; keel obtuse, broader than wings, clawed, sometimes gibbous
• Stamens monadelphous or occasionally ± diadelphous; anthers uniform
• Ovary subsessile few- to many-ovuled, sometimes villous; style slightly incurved; stigma terminal, capitate
• Pod linear, sometimes falcate, often reflexed, glabrous to densely hairy with adpressed or spreading hairs, compressed or becoming subterete, 2-valved, septate between seeds
• Seeds oblong, somewhat compressed, reddish or orange-brown; aril white
• x = 11 (polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Neonotonia J.A.Lackey
  • Lackey: 210 (1977)
• Glycine Willd.
  • Willdenow: 1053 (1802)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species 1, Neonotonia wightii (Arn.) Lackey (= Glycine wightii (Arn.) Verdc. subsp. wightii var. longicauda (Schweinf.) Verdc.) from Africa to Asia
• Southern Africa: Widespread except in the Free State and the Cape region