Crotalaria ononoides Benth.

Global description
 
Crotalaria ononoides is an annual trailling herb, with highly branched prostrate stems, slightly ascending, sometimes reaching 30 to 50 cm high. The leaves are alternate, short-stalked, composed trifoliate to narrowly elliptic or obovate leaflets, from 1.5 to 5 cm long. The flower is papilionaceous. The terminal leaflet is longer and narrower than the other two. The inflorescence is contracted in terminal glomerules, with numerous sessile flowers. The fruits are ellipsoids pods, 0.8 to 1.2 cm long.
 
Cotyledons
 
The cotyledons are slightly stalked. The lamina is oblong, 6 mm long and 4 mm wide, the top mucronate without apparent venations.
 
First leaves
 
The first leaves are alternate, simple (until the 4th or 5th leaf). They are held by a short petiole (3 mm). The lamina is obovate, 12 to 15 mm long and 8 to 10 mm wide.
  
General habit
 
Plant with creeping or slightly ascending growth habit, highly branched, reaching 30-50 cm in height.
 
Underground system
 
The plant has a taproot system.
 
Stem
 
The stem is cylindrical, branched, pubescent with long white or yellow hairs appressed upwards.
 
Leaf
 
The leaves are alternate, compound, trifoliate, with short petiole (3-5 mm long). Linear stipules, 3 mm long. Leaflets subsessile, without stipel, with narrowly elliptical to narrowly obovate leaf blade, 1.5 to 5 cm long and 0.5 to 2 cm wide. The upper leaflet is longer and narrower than the other two. The apex is mucronate, the base is slightly asymmetrical acute in lateral leaflets. The margin is full, the upper side is glabrous while the underside is pubescent, covered with long appressed hairs.
 
Inflorescence
 
The inflorescence is contracted in dense terminal glomerules, with many flowers sub-tended by a bract with 3-5 linear lobes 10-13 mm long, profusely hairy, extending just below the calyx.
 
Flower
 
The flower is papilionaceous. The calyx is deeply divided into linear lobes, 7 to 10 mm long, exceeding the corolla, hairy, slightly bifid, reddish in color. The corolla has an elliptical to obovate subcircular, hairless, yellow finely streaked with red. The wings are almost as long as the keel, also yellow turning red. The keel is sub-angular, 7 to 9 mm long, greenish
 
Fruit
 
The fruit is a sessile pod, ellipsoid, 0.8 to 1.2 cm long and 2 to 3 mm wide, ending in a beak of 1 mm long, hairy, curled. The valves are smooth, light brown to dark brown. Each pod contains 6-14 seeds.
 
Seed
 
The seed is oblique heart-shaped, 1.5 to 2 mm long, smooth seed coat, pale brown or orange.

Worldwide distribution

Crotalaria ononoides is present throughout tropical Africa and Madagascar.

https://www.gbif.org/species/2942600