Taverniera lappacea (Forssk.) DC.
Hedysarum lappaceum Forssk.
Shrub or subshrub, 40-80(100) cm in height, with highly branched stems, completely covered with a dense lanate pubescence. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate, with petiole 1-4 mm, leaflets 0.3-1.2 × 0.3-1.2 cm, obcordate or obovate, with rounded or apiculate apex, and with tomentum denser on the underside. Inflorescences in racemes, with 1-5 flowers, with pedicels 1-5 mm. Calyx 3-4 mm, with 2.5 mm teeth. Corolla 0.8-1 mm, pink or purple, with standard and keel longer than the wings, persistent. Androecium diadelphous. Ovary cylindrical, pubescent. Pod 1.5-2.5 × 0.8 cm, with 1-3 segments, each segment with 1 seed.
Flowering:
February to May.
Fruiting:
April to July.
Habitat:
Saharan stony watercourses (wadis), sandy-loamy plains and generally on depressions that accumulate greater moisture.
Distribution:
SE area of Egypt, eastern Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Arabian Peninsula, reaching towards the E up to Pakistan. In North Africa it is mainly known from Jebel Elba.
Conservation status:
A rare species with a small distribution area. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) it is listed as “Indeterminate”.