Entada wahlbergii Harv., Fl. Cap. 2: 277. 1862.

O'Donnell, Shawn A., Ringelberg, Jens J. & Lewis, Gwilym P., 2022, Re-circumscription of the mimosoid genus Entada including new combinations for all species of the phylogenetically nested Elephantorrhiza (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, mimosoid clade), PhytoKeys 205, pp. 99-145 : 99

Entada wahlbergii Harv., Fl. Cap. 2: 277. 1862.

= Entada flexuosa Hutch. & Dalziel, Fl. W. Trop. Afr. 1: 356. 1928.

Type.

SOUTH AFRICA. Natal, probably Zululand, J.A. Wahlberg s.n. (holotype: S [S13-12053]; photos: K, PRE) .

Description.

Climber, slender, woody, to 3-4 m, young branches glabrous and sinuous (Fig. 24A ). Leaves: rachis 3.4-8.4 cm long; pinnae (1-)2(-3) pairs per leaf, sometimes modified into a tendril or spirally twisted at base, 2.8-6.5 cm long, with 7-18 pairs of leaflets; leaflets 5-19 × 1.5-6 mm, oblong, apex rounded to obtuse and mucronate, base oblique, lamina glabrous (Fig. 24B ). Inflorescence: an axillary spiciform raceme, 3-6 cm long, solitary or grouped together on short leafless shoots or occupying terminal portions of leafy shoots, rachis glabrous (Fig. 24C ). Flowers: dark purple or red, pedicels 1-1.5 mm; calyx 1-1.5 mm long, deeply toothed, glabrous; petals 3-4.5 mm long; stamen filaments 4-6.5 mm long (Figs 2I , 24C ). Fruit: a torulose, laterally compressed, falcate craspedium, 11-23(-30) × 2.9-3.8(-4.4) cm, with transverse septa between seeds dividing the fruit into one-seeded segments which, upon ripening, fall from the persistent replum (Fig. 24A, D ). Seeds: 1-1.1 × 0.7-0.8(-1) cm, pleurogram oval, closed.

Distribution.

Tropical west to southern Africa, from Guinea and Mali to Nigeria and Sudan, south through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and South Africa.

Habitat and ecology.

Wooded grassland, open forest, bushveld, valley scrub and banks of dry watercourses on dry, sandy soil; 610-1070 m alt.

Figures

Figure 2. Genus-wide variation in morphological characters. A-D habit A large woody liana, E. rheedei (photo: B Wursten, Hyde et al. (2021)) B small tree, E. abyssinica (photo: G Baumann, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) C shrub, E. burkei (photo: M Schmidt, Dressler et al. (2014 a, b )) D geoxylic suffrutex, E. dolichorrhachis (photo: M Bingham, Bingham et al. (2021)) E, F leaves E bipinnate leaf with few pinnae, few large leaflets and ending in a bifurcating tendril, E. rheedei (photo: AP Balan, Balan and Predeep (2021)) F bipinnate leaf with many pinnae, many small leaflets and no tendril, E. rangei (photo: A Dreyer, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) G-I inflorescences G terminal panicle of up-turned spikes, E. polyphylla (photo: R Vasquez Martinez, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, MBG (2021)) H axillary fascicles of spiciform racemes, E. goetzei (photo: G Baumann, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) I short spiciform raceme of dark red flowers, E. wahlbergii (photo: R Mangelsdorff, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) J-M fruits J immature, weakly falcate, segmented craspedium up to 2 m long, E. rheedei (photo: photographer unknown, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), 2000) K immature, segmented, laxly spiralled craspedium up to 120 cm long, E. gigas (photo: R Aguilar CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Aguilar (2021)) L ripe segmented craspedia breaking up into one-seeded segments with exfoliating epicarp, E. africana (photo: B Eichhorn, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) M ripe unsegmented craspedium, the entire valve breaking away from the persistent replum, E. burkei (photo: M Kriek CC BY-SA 4.0, Ueda (2021) observation 85675968) N, O seeds N one-seeded endocarp segment and small ovoid, flattened seed with elliptic pleurogram, E. africana (photo: B Eichhorn, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) O ripe one-seeded fruit segments with large circular, laterally compressed seeds lacking a pleurogram, E. gigas (photo: J Stevens, Dressler et al. (2014 a)). Scale bars: 1 cm (N, O).

Figure 24. Entada wahlbergii vegetative and reproductive structures. A slender climbing stem bearing leaves and nearly mature pods, Benin (photo: M Schmidt, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) B leaf and spiciform raceme, Benin (photo: R Mangelsdorff, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) C spiciform raceme of open, pedicellate flowers, Benin (photo: R Mangelsdorff, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) D leaves and nearly mature pods, Benin (photo: M Schmidt, Dressler et al. (2014 a)).