Tephrosia 
wide, L/W 1.2-5.8, 2° veins 60-75 degrees to midrib, 
3° venation reticulate, base obtuse, apex obtuse, 
occasionally truncate. Inflorescences terminal and 
axillary, racemose, usually unbranched, 75-360 mm 
long, flowers 1-4 per node, crowded; bracts + 
caducous, setaceous to narrowly triangular, (3)5-15 
mm long. Pedicels 3-5 mm long. Calyx 6-10 mm long; 
lobes acuminate. Corolla orange, rarely yellow; 
standard 8-14 mm long. Pod yellowish brown, linear, 
slightly curved towards the apex, turgid, 51-70 mm 
long, 3.5-4 mm wide, densely velutinous with long 
and short hairs, beak marginal, straight or upturned. 
Seeds 8-12, separated by spongy septa, olivaceous or 
yellowish, oblong, oblong in cross-section, 2.8-3.2 
mm long, c. 2 mm wide; caruncle green, flattened, 
asymmetric. Flowering: Dec - Mar; fruiting: Feb - 
July. Fig. 30 
In the Kimberley and the NT in open but less 
fire prone habitats, usually on well drained sandy soils. 
Relatively common in the DR in rocky situations on 
sandstone or granite and on sandy lowlands. Forms 
from sandstone habitats can have fewer, smaller 
leaflets with more prominent venation and a denser 
indumentum. 
T. phaeosperma F.Muell. ex Benth. 
An erect annual or short-lived perennial shrub to 
1.5 m tall. All parts with sparse adpressed white hairs 
to silvery sericeous or occasionally softly tomentose, 
the leaflets sometimes green and glabrous above. 
Stipules acicular, 3-5 mm long. Leaves obovate in 
outline; rachis to basal leaflets 2-5(10) mm, 8-47(85) 
mm overall; leaflets in 1-4(7) pairs, + discolorous, 
elliptic, oblanceolate or spathulate, 12-43(50) mm 
long, 3-15(18) mm wide, L/W 2.6-8, 2° veins (below) 
pale or reddish, closely spaced, 30-45 degrees to 
midrib, 3° veins + obscure, base attenuate or cuneate, 
apex retuse, truncate, acute or obtuse. Inflorescences 
terminal, racemose, to 60(120) mm long, flowers 1-3 
per node, crowded; bracts persistent, setaceous, c. | 
mm long. Pedicels 3-4 mm long. Calyx 2-4 mm long. 
Corolla purple, mauve or pink; standard 5-8 mm long. 
Pod dark brown, oblong, straight, flattened, raised 
over seeds, 18-40 mm long, 4-6 mm wide, beak 
central, deflexed or straight. Seeds (3)5-8(10), 
oblique, centres < pod width apart, pale brown or 
Olivaceous with darker mottles, globular-oblong, 
orbicular or reniform, 2.8-3.5 mm long, 2.2-3 mm 
wide; hilum central; caruncle white, annular, minute. 
Flowering and fruiting: Feb - Oct. Fig. 30 
Widespread from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the 
Kimberley and most common in the lower latitudes 
of the monsoonal region. Rare in the DR where known 
only from the Tabletop Range in Litchfield NP. 
FABACEAE 107 
Occurs on sandy soils, usually associated with 
sandstone. Forms from drier areas have fewer leaflets 
and are often silvery sericeous. Used as‘a fish poison 
(Smith et al., 1993). 
T. polyzyga F.Muell. ex Benth. 
An erect perennial shrub to 1 m tall, with annual 
above ground parts. Vegetative parts with a sparse to 
dense indumentum of silver to white sericeous hairs, 
the leaves almost glabrous to tomentose above. 
Stipules caducous, setaceous, 2-5 (in one form 
10-12) mm long. Medial leaves linear to narrowly 
lanceolate in outline; rachis to basal leaflets 0-8 mm, 
70-270 mm overall; leaflets in (14)20-36(52) pairs, 
discolorous, narrowly elliptic to narrowly 
oblanceolate, less commonly linear, spathulate or 
cuneate, (2)6-28 mm long, 1-5 mm wide, L/W (3)5- 
7(10), 2° veins c. 45 degrees to midrib, 3° veins 
obscure, base attenuate or cuneate, apex acute, obtuse 
or emarginate. Floral parts with white to rusty 
sericeous hairs. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, 
racemose, with up to 3 orders of branching, 100- 
370(800) mm long, flowers 1-3 per node; bracts + 
persistent, setaceous, 1-3 mm long. Pedicels 3-7 mm 
long. Calyx 2-5 mm long, lobes acute to acuminate. 
Corolla yellow, yellow-green or orange; standard 
5-8 mm long. Pod grey, pale or dark brown, oblong, 
+ straight, flat, raised over seeds, 30-55 mm long, 5- 
6 mm wide, tomentose with grey to yellowish hairs, 
beak central, straight. Seeds 4-6, centres > pod width 
apart, + mottled, dark brown, oblong to square, elliptic 
in cross-section, 2.5-4 mm long, 2.5-4 mm wide; 
caruncle white, small, annular. Flowering: Oct - July; 
fruiting: Jan - June. Fig. 31 
Found in northern WA, Qld and the NT. In the DR, 
occurs south and east of the Adelaide R. on ridges on 
well drained, rocky soils derived from fine grained 
sediments. Tephrosia polyzyga is a widespread, 
variable taxon. In the DR two forms are known, one 
sparsely hairy with shorter emarginate to acute leaflets 
and orange flowers, the other densely sericeous with 
longer acute leaflets and yellow flowers. These forms 
intergrade outside the DR. 
T. porrecta R.Br. ex Benth. 
T. singuliflora F.Muell. 
A prostrate or erect multistemmed perennial 
subshrub, with annual above ground parts and many 
narrowly ellipsoid tubers to 60 mm long and 20 mm 
diam. on lateral roots. All parts with white or golden 
hairs, sparsely adpressed to pilose on vegetative parts, 
pilose on floral parts and pod. Stipules patent or 
recurved, green, triangular, 3-6 mm long, 0.5-2 mm 
wide, prominently veined. Leaves oblong to lanceolate 
