Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers.

Global description

Tephrosia purpurea is a semi-vivacious plant with diffuse stem, easily trailling on the ground at the start of the hypocotyl. The leaves are alternate and compound. The rachis is 6 to 10 cm long, containing 6 to 12 pairs of generally well opposite leaflets plus a terminal leaflet. The flowers are pink or purple in color, arranged loosely along the axis, 10 to 20 cm long. The fruits are linear pods covered with fine hairs.
 
General habit
 
Herbaceous plant or branched sub-shrub, reaching up to 50 to 70 cm high, with sparsely hairy stems.
 
Underground system

The plant has a deep taproot.
 
Stem
 
Stem is cylindrical, solid, quickly woody at the base. It is sparsely pubescent. First trailing then becomes erect at the end.
 
Leaf
 
The leaves are alternate, imparipinnate compound, held by a petiole, 3 to 10 mm long, with two linear lanceolate stipules at the base, 3 to 5 mm long. The rachis, 6 to 12 cm long, has 6 to 12 pairs of sub-sessile leaflets, generally well opposite, and a terminal leaflet carried by a petiolule, 2 to 5 mm long. The initial and terminal leaflets are slightly smaller than the median. The lamina is narrowly obovate, 1 to 2.5 cm long and 0.3 to 1 cm wide. The base is acute, the apex rounded or truncated to emarginate, mucronate. We can distinguish 5 to 6 pinnate ascending veins fairly clear. The upper side is sub-glabrous while the underside is covered with short and applied white hairs.
 
Inflorescence
 
Inflorescences consist of axillary or terminal racemes, 2 to 20 cm long.
 
Flower
 
Flowers can be isolated or in groups of 2, 3 or 4, spaced 15 to 30 mm. The stalks are 3 to 6 mm long for the flowers and can measure up to 8 mm at the time of fruiting. The calyx is 5 mm long, with 5 linear tines, covered with a white pubescence. The corolla is pink or purple, 6 to 10 mm long, the standard is 11 mm wide and 8 mm high.
 
Fruit
 
The fruit is a hairy flattened pod and elongated with parallel edges, slightly curved at the top. It measures 2.5 to 4.5 cm long and 4 to 5 mm wide. It can contain 7 to 9 seeds.
 
Seed
 
The seed is oblong, slightly flattened, 4 mm long and 2.5 mm wide. The surface is smooth, more or less mottled, and yellowish in color.

Origin

Tephrosia purpurea is native to the ancient tropical world, and is widely distributed from Africa to Asia and Australia, New Caledonia and the Pacific Islands.

Worldwide distribution

This species has been introduced into Central and South America and the Caribbean

https://www.gbif.org/fr/species/5342239