Polhillia C.H.Stirt. subgen. Roseopolhillia B.du Preez,, 2021

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

4.5. Polhillia C.H.Stirt. subgen. Roseopolhillia B.du Preez, subgen. nov

4.5.1. Taxonomy

Type species: Polhillia involucrata (Thunb.) B.-E.van Wyk & A.L. Schutte , Kew Bulletin 44: 3 (1989).

Shrubs erect, sprouting from rootstock after fire; stipules 2, deltoid-oblong, glabrous abaxially, villous adaxially with three prominent veins, connate around base, sheathing stem, often persistent; leaves digitately trifoliolate, shortly petiolate, glabrous or rarely sparsely hairy, conduplicate; inflorescence terminal, flowers in clusters of 2 — 5, subsessile, surrounded by enlarged stipules; flowers rose pink or rarely white, 10 — 12 mm long; calyx with trifid ventral lip, sparsely pilose, green, often flushed maroon; standard broadly elliptic to ovate, apex emarginate, pubescent only along abaxial midrib; wing petals broadly oblong with lamellate sculpturing along most part of dorsal half; keel petals lunate, pilose along ventral fore edge; stamens 10, monadelphous with single dorsal slit, filaments fused for most of their length, anthers alternating between long and short; pistil sericeous, variable in length, ovules 7, style sub-erect, stigma regular, capitate; fruit dehiscent, pale cream-brown, oblong, laterally compressed between seeds, sericeous; seeds ovate-squared, smooth, dark-brown to mottled pale-orange.