Stylosanthes

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Fabaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Stylosanthes

  • Description

    Genus Description - Erect or prostrate herbs. Leaves trifoliolate; stipules adnate to the petiole, conspicuously veined, persistent; stipels small, in axillary, short spikes, the bracts large, appressed against the calyx; calyx bell-shaped to tubular, 4 sepals united, 1 free; corolla yellow, the standard rounded, notched at apex, the wings oblong, as long as the keel, the keel incurved; stamens 10, monadelphous; ovary shortly stipitate, with 2 or 3 ovules, the style incurved, the stigma punctiform. Legume flattened, constricted between seeds, separating into 2 or 3 segments, hooked at apex, indehiscent; seeds nearly lenticular.

    Distribution and Ecology - A genus of 50 species, with most species native to the New World and a few species from Africa and Asia