Entada elephantina
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Elephantorrhiza cf. elephantina, loof, Steenbokpan.jpg
|image2 = Elephantorrhiza elephantina, peule, Gerhardsville, a.jpg
|image2_caption = Winter habit and green seed pods with thickened margins resting on ground
|taxon = Entada elephantina
|authority = (Burch.) S.A.O’Donnell & G.P.Lewis (2022)
|synonyms =
- Acacia elephantina {{small|Burch. (1824)}}
- Acacia elephantorrhiza {{small|Burch. ex DC. (1825)}}
- Elephantorrhiza burchellii {{small|Benth. (1841), nom. superfl.}}
- Elephantorrhiza elephantina {{small|(Burch.) Skeels (1909)}}
- Prosopis elephantina {{small|(Burch.) E.Mey. (1836)}}
- Prosopis elephantorrhiza {{small|Spreng. (1827)}}
|synonyms_ref = [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77303964-1 Entada elephantina (Burch.) S.A.O’Donnell & G.P.Lewis]. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
}}
Entada elephantina, commonly known as the eland's wattle or elephant's root, is a subshrub in the mimosoid clade of legumes. They occur widely and in several bioregions of southern Africa{{cite web |last1=Grobler |first1=Alicia |title=Elephantorrhiza elephantina (Burch.) Skeels |url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/elephanteleph.htm |website=PlantZAfrica.com |date=July 2010 |publisher=SANBI |accessdate=10 June 2015 |archive-date=21 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721232748/http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/elephanteleph.htm |url-status=dead }} in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, and Lesotho. Considerable size variation has been noted, and polyploidy was suspected.{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=J. H. |title=Fabaceae: Some observations on Elephantorrhiza burkei and E. elephantina |journal= Bothalia |date=11 November 1977 |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=257 |doi=10.4102/abc.v12i2.1411 |url=http://abcjournal.org/index.php/ABC/article/view/1411 |accessdate=11 June 2015|doi-access=free }}
Description
They have a suffrutescent habit typical of their genus. They produce unbranched and unarmed aerial stems of less than a metre tall. The various populations show considerable variation in terms of the number of pinnae pairs and the number, size and shape of the leaflets. They flower from September to November and are pollinated mainly by the African honeybee. The flowering racemes are typically confined to the lower part of the stem, so that the pods are usually suspended just above ground level, or alternatively rest inconspicuously on the ground.
Similar species
Entada burkei has similar aerial parts, but its seeds are consistently smaller than those of E. elephantina.cf. Bothalia 11:252 (1974) Mature specimens of E. burkei especially, produce their flowering racemes on the branched stems, so that the pods appear in conspicuous positions some distance above ground. Seed shape varies considerably in E. burkei, from elliptic to nearly quadrate if they are tightly compacted and laterally compressed in their pods. In either species the two pod valves will separate from their margin, which persists as a nearly continuous and empty frame, reminiscent of some Entada pods.cf. Palmer & Pitman, Trees S. Afr. 2:827, 1973 Pods of E. elephantina generally disintegrate and disappear more rapidly than those of E. burkei, where the two pod valves roll back and persist with their margins for many months.
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Species | Pod shape | Pod position | Seed dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|
| E. elephantina | short and broad | on or near ground | {{center|{{nowrap|17-26 x 13-18 x 6-13 mm}}}} |
| E. burkei | long and narrow | clearly above ground | {{center|{{nowrap|9-15 x 8-12 x 5-7 mm}}}} |
Gallery
file:Elephantorrhiza elephantina, bloeiwyse, Faerie Glen NR, h.jpg|{{center|racemes at ground level}}
file:Elephantorrhiza elephantina, bloeiwyse, Faerie Glen NR, i.jpg|{{center|close-up of raceme}}
file:Mimosoideae spp Taub72, crop1.png|{{center|illustration of flower}}
file:Elephantorrhiza elephantina, bloeiwyse, Faerie Glen NR, d.jpg|{{center|beetle pollinating}}
file:Mimosoideae spp Taub72, crop2.png|{{center|illustration of seed pod}}
file:Elephantorrhiza elephantina, loof en peule, Faerie Glen NR, b.jpg|{{center|dehiscing seed pod}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15534693}}