Parochetus communis D. Don
var. africanus (Polhill) Chaudhary & Sanjappa

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Near Serena Mountain Lodge, Mount Kenya

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Synonyms:	Parochetus africanus Polhill Parochetus communis sensu Agnew Parochetus communis D. Don var. grossecrenatus Cufod. Parochetus major auct.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Creeping prostrate herb with slender stems, rooting at the nodes. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate; leaflets obovate, up to 4 cm long and wide, emarginate at the apex, green blotched with white in the centre, hairless above, almost hairless to hairy beneath; margins usually coarsely toothed towards the apex; petiole 3–30 cm long, hairy; stipules ovate, 6–10 mm long. Inflorescence usually 1–2-flowered; peduncle 1.5–25 cm long, ascending; bracts similar to stipules but smaller. Flowers sweetly scented, on pedicels 1.5–6 cm long, reflexed in fruit. Calyx c. 7 mm long, the 2 upper lobes connate almost to their tips, the lateral lobes triangular-lanceolate, the lowest lobe longer than the 2 lateral, hairless to sparsely hairy. Corolla pale blue or rarely white, hairless; standard broadly ovate-elliptic, emarginate, 12–18 mm long; wings c. 13 mm long; keel c. 10 mm long, subangular about the middle of the blade, darker blue at the tip. Pod narrowly oblong, 15–25 mm long, shortly beaked, usually hairless.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	africanus: African
Habitat:	On forest floor in (sub)montane evergreen forest and on streambanks in damp shady places.
Altitude range:	1500 - 2000 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Eastern DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and possibly Mozambique.
Malawi distribution:	N,S
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Sunday 7 October 2018
Literature:	Agnew, A.D.Q. (2013). Upland Kenya Wild Flowers and Ferns Nature Kenya - The East Africa Natural History Society Page 174. As Parochetus communis (Includes a picture). Martins, E.S. et al. (2003). Papilionoideae Flora Zambesiaca 3(7) Pages 35 - 37. As Parochetus africanus (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Parochetus communis var. africanus:

Our websites:

Flora of Mozambique: Parochetus communis var. africanus
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Parochetus communis var. africanus

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Parochetus communis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Parochetus communis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Parochetus communis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Parochetus communis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Parochetus communis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Parochetus communis
JSTOR Plant Science: Parochetus communis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Parochetus communis
Plants of the World Online: Parochetus communis
Tropicos: Parochetus communis
Wikipedia: Parochetus communis