Lotononis platycarpa

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Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Papilionoideae
Tribe:	Crotalarieae
Genus:	Lotononis
Species:	L. platycarpa

Binomial name

Lotononis platycarpa^[1]
(Viv.) Pic.Serm.

Synonyms

Lotononis leobordea Benth.
Lotononis steingroeveriana (Schinz) Dummer
Lotus platycarpa Viv. ^[1] Lotononis lotoidea (Delile) Batt.
Amphinomia dinteri (Schinz) A.Schreib
Lotononis steingroeveriana (Schinz) Dummer
Leobordea abyssinica Hochst. ex A.Rich.
Amphinomia platycarpa (Viv.) Cufod.
Lotononis dinteri Schinz
Lotus platycarpos Viv.
Capnitis clandestina E.Mey.
Leobordea lotoidea Delile
Amphinomia lotoidea (Delile) Maire
Lotononis carinalis Harv.
Lotononis porrecta (E.Mey.) Benth.
Lotononis sphaerocarpa Boiss.
Lotononis dichotoma (Delile) Boiss.
Amphinomia steingroeveriana (Schinz) A.Schreib.
Lotononis clandestina (E.Mey.) Benth. var. steingroeveriana Schinz
Leobordea persica Jaub. & Spach
Lotononis persica (Jaub. & Spach) Boiss.
Lotononis abyssinica (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Kotschy
Lotononis leobordea Benth.
Lotononis clandestina (E.Mey.) Benth.
Lotus dichotomus Delile ex Walp.
Capnitis porrecta E.Mey.^[2]

Lotononis platycarpa a Fabaceae and a Lotononis is a common annual plant in the drier parts of the African continent found in open ground, roadsides, cultivated ground and other disturbed places or in short grassland on sand.^[3]

1 Description
2 Distribution
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Description

Lotononis platycarpa is an sprawling annual plant with a very short main stem and numerous slender prostrate branches, each from 5 centimetres (2.0 in) to 50 centimetres (20 in) long.

Stems and leaves: Stems are covered with fine hairs and survive from season to season with the other stems that grow from an undivided taproot. Leaves are three compound leaflets which grow opposite on flowering shoots, each leaflet is 4 millimetres (0.16 in) to 8 millimetres (0.31 in) long and 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in) to 3 millimetres (0.12 in) wide, oval to lanceolate with slightly pointed tips. Bald or with soft fine hairs above and always with soft fine hairs below. Leaf stalks are about the same size as the leaf they hold or a little shorter.
Flowers: Flowers appear singly or in clusters of several from the nodes and are attached directly to the base stem. Bracts are 1 millimetre (0.039 in) to 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in) long and gradually tapered. The upper petal is pale yellow, narrowly eliptical, with many short, soft hairs on the outside and shorter than the lower petals. The side petals are also shorter than the lower petals -- the lower petals being 6 millimetres (0.24 in) to 7 millimetres (0.28 in) long, narrow and slightly upturned to a bluntly pointed reddish tip and very hairy.
Seeds: Seed pods are 4 millimetres (0.16 in) to 7 millimetres (0.28 in) long, narrow and oblong and tapered at the base. Downcurved slightly at the tip, usually with hairs but sometimes not; pods contain 10 seeds. Seeds are 1 millimetre (0.039 in) to 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in) long, smooth, brown and heart-shaped.^[3]

Communities

L. platycarpa has been observed living low in wadis with these plant species:

[edit] Distribution

Recorded growing at altitudes of 900 metres (3,000 ft) to 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) L. playcarpa makes its home in open ground, roadsides, cultivated ground and other disturbed places or in short grassland on sand.^[3]

Native

Palearctic:

Macaronesia: Cape Verde

Northern Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco

Afrotropic:

Northeast Tropical Africa: Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan

East Tropical Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda

West-Central Tropical Africa: Central African Republic, Zaire

South Tropical Africa: Angola, Zimbabwe

Southern Africa: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa - Cape Province, Orange Free State, Transvaal

Western Indian Ocean: Mauritius

Arabian Peninsula: Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen