Stylosanthes hamata

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image=Stylosanthes hamata (L.) Taub. (6254148545).jpg

|image_caption=Close-up of flower and leaves

|image2=Stylosanthes hamata habit.jpg

|image2_caption=Habit

|genus=Stylosanthes

|species=hamata

|authority=(L.) Taub.

|synonyms_ref=

|synonyms={{Collapsible list|

• Anonis americana Aubl.
• Hedysarum hamatum L.
• Ononis cerrifolia Rchb. ex DC.
• Stylosanthes eriocarpa S.F.Blake
• Stylosanthes humilis Rich. ex Hemsl.
• Stylosanthes procumbens Sw.

}}}}

Stylosanthes hamata, the Caribbean stylo, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the islands of the Caribbean, and nearby areas on the mainland; Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela, and it has been introduced as a forage crop to Florida, Peru, Brazil, the Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin, India, Thailand, Hainan, and northern Australia.{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:247544-2 |title=Stylosanthes hamata (L.) Taub. |author= |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=11 June 2021 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.feedipedia.org/node/7740 |title=Caribbean stylo (Stylosanthes hamata) |last1=Heuzé |first1=V. |last2=Tran |first2=G. |last3=Sauvant |first3=D. |last4=Lebas |first4=F. |date=20 October 2015 |website=Feedipedia – Animal Feed Resources Information System |publisher=Feedipedia, a programme by INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO |access-date=11 June 2021 |quote=Common names; ... verano stylo, ... cheesy toes, lady's fingers, pencil flower, mother segal, Lucy Julia }} There are diploid and tetraploid cultivars, with the tetraploids being more drought tolerant and more frequently sown for pasture.{{cite journal |title=Molecular evidence that diploid Stylosanthes humilis and diploid Stylosanthes hamata are progenitors of allotetraploid Stylosanthes hamata cv. Verano |year=1995 |last1=Curtis |first1=Mark D. |last2=Manners |first2=John M. |last3=Cameron |first3=Don F. |journal=Genome |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=344–348 |doi=10.1139/g95-044 |pmid=18470174 }}