Parochetus communis

Appearance

''Parochetus communis'' is a prostrate herb, growing up to 10–20 centimetres tall. Its leaves are trifoliate , with each leaflet being 8–20 mm long and similarly wide . The leaflets are cuneate at the base, and notched at the tip, with margins that may be smooth or have minute teeth. The stipules at the base of each leaf-stalk are 4–5 mm long and entire .

The flowers of ''P. communis'' are borne singly or in clusters of up to three flowers on stalks that are typically 8–15 cm long, but can be 1.5–25 cm long. The flowers are generally blue, but occasionally white or purple; the standard is 12–20 mm long, notched at the tip, and narrowed at the base. The wings are around 13 mm long, and the keel is 20–25 mm long and 3–4 mm wide.

The seeds of ''P. communis'' form inside pods; each pod is 15–25 mm long and 4–5 mm wide and contains 8–12 seeds, with each seed being around 2 mm long and slightly kidney-shaped, somewhat narrower than long.

Distribution

''Parochetus communis'' is native to the Himalaya and other Asian mountain systems as far south as Java, and also the Afrotropical mountains. In Africa, it is found in Burundi, central Ethiopia, eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and western parts of Uganda, and grows in damp, shady places on the forest floor or along the banks of streams and rivers at altitudes of 1,500–2,000 metres . In China, it grows at altitudes of 1,800–3,000 m . ''Parochetus communis'' has been introduced to New Zealand, where it was first recorded in 1944.

Because of its wide distribution and the absence of any threats to the species, ''Parochetus communis'' is classified as ''Least Concern'' on the IUCN Red List.

Status

''Parochetus communis'' is native to the Himalaya and other Asian mountain systems as far south as Java, and also the Afrotropical mountains. In Africa, it is found in Burundi, central Ethiopia, eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and western parts of Uganda, and grows in damp, shady places on the forest floor or along the banks of streams and rivers at altitudes of 1,500–2,000 metres . In China, it grows at altitudes of 1,800–3,000 m . ''Parochetus communis'' has been introduced to New Zealand, where it was first recorded in 1944.

Because of its wide distribution and the absence of any threats to the species, ''Parochetus communis'' is classified as ''Least Concern'' on the IUCN Red List.

Habitat

''Parochetus communis'' is native to the Himalaya and other Asian mountain systems as far south as Java, and also the Afrotropical mountains. In Africa, it is found in Burundi, central Ethiopia, eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and western parts of Uganda, and grows in damp, shady places on the forest floor or along the banks of streams and rivers at altitudes of 1,500–2,000 metres . In China, it grows at altitudes of 1,800–3,000 m . ''Parochetus communis'' has been introduced to New Zealand, where it was first recorded in 1944.

Because of its wide distribution and the absence of any threats to the species, ''Parochetus communis'' is classified as ''Least Concern'' on the IUCN Red List.

Evolution

The genus ''Parochetus'' was established by David Don in Hamilton's ' of 1825 for the two species ''P. communis'' and ''P. major'', which were separated on the basis of their leaf margins. In 1835, John Forbes Royle described a third species, ''P. oxalidifolia'', again based on leaf margin differences. It was later realised that intergradations between all three leaf forms were seen, and so the three taxa were merged into a single species. In 1871, ''Parochetus'' was collected from Africa for the first time, as part of David Livingstone's Zambezi Expedition, from Mount Chiradzulu in southern Malawi. A new species, ''Parochetus africanus'', was erected for specimens from Africa in 1991 by Roger Marcus Polhill, but this was reduced to a subspecies of ''P. communis'' in 1998 because of a perceived lack of differentiating characters.

''Parochetus'' is traditionally classified in the tribe Trifolieae of the family Leguminosae , although its inclusion in that tribe has also been considered doubtful. Because ''Parochetus'' could not be comfortably accommodated in either of the existing subtribes of the Trifolieae, a new subtribe, Parochetinae, was erected in 1998 to accommodate ''Parochetus'' alone.

Cultural

''Parochetus'' has been grown in Europe since the early 19th century, but is considered "tender" in the United Kingdom, and will only survive outdoors in warm and sheltered areas. Plants from Asian stock may be hardier than those from Africa.