Bolusanthus
Habit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Sophoreae
Genus: Bolusanthus
Harms (1906)
Species:
B. speciosus
Binomial name
Bolusanthus speciosus
(Bolus) Harms (1906)
Synonyms[1]
  • Lonchocarpus speciosus Bolus (1889)
  • Bolusanthus speciosus f. albescens Yakovlev (1972)

Bolusanthus speciosus (tree wisteria) is a species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. It is the only member of the genus Bolusanthus .[2][3][4]

Description

It is a small deciduous tree, which can grow up to 7 m (23 ft) tall. It has black, fissured rough bark and also drooping branches. Between September and October, when the tree has no leaves it begins to bloom, with lilac blue flowers. Later it produces a seed capsule, the grey pods contain 3-8 smooth, bright yellow or brown seeds.[5]

The wood is very hard, heavy and yellow in colour. It can be used for axe-handles, wagon spokes and fencing poles. The tree is also grown in gardens due to the attractive flowers.[5]

Distribution

It is native to KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Provinces (of South Africa), Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[1] It is found in low to medium elevations in woodland or wooded grasslands.[5]

Taxonomy

The genus name of Bolusanthus is in honour of Harry Bolus, (1834 – 1911) who was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist,[6] and 'anthus' the Greek word for flower.

It was first published and described by (Bolus) Hermann Harms (a German botanist) in Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 2: 15 in 1906.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bolusanthus speciosus (Bolus) Harms | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "The Plant List entry for Bolusanthus". The Plant List. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden. 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "ILDIS LegumeWeb entry for Bolusanthus". International Legume Database & Information Service. Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  4. ↑ USDA; ARS; National Genetic Resources Program. "GRIN species records of Bolusanthus". Germplasm Resources Information Network—(GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Drummond, R.B., ed. (1972). The Bundu Book of Trees, Flowers and Grasses (2nd ed.). Salisbury, Rhodesia: Longman Rhodesia. p. 35. ISBN 058257532X.
  6. ↑ Burkhardt, Lotte (2018). Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition [Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition] (pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2018. ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
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