Polhillia, C. H. Stirt.

du Preez, B., Dreyer, L. L., Stirton, C. H. & Muasya, A. M., 2021, A monograph of the genus Polhillia (Genisteae: Fabaceae), South African Journal of Botany 138, pp. 156-183 : 165-166

Key to Polhillia species

1a Leaves glabrous (or rarely sparsely hairy), flowers pink or white, fruit dehiscent ............................................. Polhillia involucrata (11)

1b Leaves pubescent, flowers yellow, fruit indehiscent....................2

2a Flowers less than 9 mm long, leaves distinctly petiolate .............................................................................................. Polhillia brevicalyx (1)

2b Flowers equal to or more than 9 mm long, leaves subsessile.......3

3a Fruit plicate, pseudo-peduncles usually present, distribution outside Overberg .................................................................... 4

4a Flowers 2 — 4 (up to 5) on a pseudo-peduncle, fruit densely pubescent ..................................................................... 5

5a Leaves bright green, flattened and straight, flowers borne on pseudo-peduncle up to 15 mm long .......... Polhillia ignota (2)

5b Leaves silky-grey sericeous, conduplicate and arcuate, flowers borne on pseudo-peduncle up to 7 mm long ................................................................. Polhillia fortunata (3)

4b Flowers usually solitary or sometimes paired on a pseudo-peduncle, fruit glabrescent .................................... 6

6a Bark pale green-brown to golden, fruit strongly plicate, ovules 12, distribution around Worcester ......... Polhillia obsoleta (4)

6b Bark grey-brown, fruit weakly plicate, ovules variable (8 — 11), distribution near Bonnievale ..................................................... Polhillia groenewaldii (5)

3b Fruit laterally compressed between seeds, pseudo-peduncles absent, distribution within Overberg region ............................................................................................................. 7

7a Calyx equal to or longer than 6 mm, keel apex rostrate, flowers in clusters of up to 4 ............ ............................................................... Polhillia connata (6)

7b Calyx shorter than 6 mm, keel apex acute to rounded, flowers single or in clusters of 2 ............... 8

8a Leaflets villous, style angled at 45 — 60̊ .................. 9

9a Shrubs 0.5 — 1.0 m tall, fruit velutinous, distribution W of Breede River.......... Polhillia curtisiae (7)

9b Shrubs 1.0 — 1.8 m tall, fruit sericeous, distribution E of Breede River........ Polhillia xairuensis (8)

8b Leaflets adpressed sericeous-canescent, style angled at 70 — 90̊ ...................................................... 10

10a Shrub 1.5 — 2.5 m tall, with sparse terminal branching, leaflets more than 1 mm wide, oblong-obovate and straight ........................ ..................................................... Polhillia pallens (9)

10a Shrub 0.8 — 1.2 m tall, with terminal burst branching, leaflets less than 1 mm wide, linear-lanceolate and arcuate .................................. .......................................... Polhillia stirtoniana (10)