Melolobium

Melolobium
Melolobium aethiopicum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Genisteae
Genus: Melolobium
Eckl. & Zeyh.
Species[1]

14; see text

Synonyms[1]

Sphingium E.Mey. (1835)

Melolobium is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the legume family, Fabaceae.[1] It includes 14 species of small shrubs or perennial herbs native to southern Africa,[1] which are found in southern and eastern Namibia, southwestern Botswana, and most of South Africa.

These plants are perennial herbs and small shrubs. Leaves are often sticky with exudate from small surface glands. Some have spine-tipped branches.[1] The leaves have three leaflets. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme of flowers. The flowers are yellow, sometimes fading orange or purple.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d e Melolobium Eckl. & Zeyh. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. ^ Moteetee, A., & van Wyk, B. E. (2006). A revision of the genus Melolobium (Genisteae, Fabacaeae). South African Journal of Botany, 72(1), 51-98.