112 FABACEAE Uraria 
URARIA Desv. 
Perennial herbs with annual stems. Stipules persistent, striate. Leaves 1- or pinnately 3-foliolate; stipels 
persistent. Inflorescence of terminal or axillary densely flowered spike-like racemes. Bracteoles absent. Calyx 
unequally 5-lobed, the 2 vexillary lobes short and broad, the rest long and subulate. Corolla purple, glabrous; 
standard without a claw, obovate; wing and keel petals clawed, pouched at basal lobes. Stamens 9+1, filaments 
alternately long and short; anthers uniformly dorsifixed and versatile. Ovary sessile or nearly so; style geniculate; 
stigma capitate, minute. Pod of 2 or more white or dark grey concertina’d articles, shorter than the calyx; 
articles breaking free, inflated, indehiscent, glabrous, smooth or reticulately veined. Seeds ecarunculate. 
About 35 species in the Old World tropics; 3 in tropical Australia, 2 in the DR. 
1. Leaflets linear or linear-lanceolate, >13 times as long aS Wide.........ssssccsssssseeseceeesnneteeee 
12 Leaflets never linear, <5 times as long as wide ........... 
U. lagopodioides (L.) Desv. ex DC. 
U. cylindracea Benth. 
Semi erect to prostrate. Vegetative parts densely 
covered with patent white, hyaline or ferruginous 
simple, long and short hairs and hooked hairs. Stipules 
acuminate, to 9 mm long. Leaves 1 or 3-foliolate; 
rachis 9-65 mm long; leaflets variable, from oblong 
to orbicular, lanceolate or oblanceolate, 20-105 mm 
long, 8-62 mm wide, L/W 1.4-3.5, scabrous above, 
softly hairy below, prominently reticulately veined 
below, base rounded or cordate, apex variable, usually 
mucronate; basal leaflets much smaller than the 
terminal. Inflorescence to 145 mm long. Rachis 
densely covered with patent long ferruginous hooked 
hairs and long and short simple hairs; bracts persistent, 
broad based, acuminate, striate, 6-9 mm long, densely 
hirsute to ciliate with simple white or ferruginous 
hairs. Pedicels 4-6 mm long, vestiture similar to 
inflorescence rachis with hooked hairs often in a band 
below the calyx. Calyx 5-8 mm long, tube with 
U. ‘Litchfield’ 
U. lagopodioides 
minute hairs; lobes to 4/5 of total length, hirsute 
with long white bristles, hooked hairs and occasional 
yellow glandular based septate hairs. Standard 
5-7 mm long. Ovary 2-ovuled. Articles of pod 
c. 4mm long, 3 mm wide. Seeds olivaceous, c. 3 mm 
long, 2 mm wide. Flowering: Jan - Mar; fruiting: 
Mar - Apr. Fig. 32 
Widely distributed from tropical regions of the 
Pacific to China. In Australia in WA, Qld and the NT; 
common in the DR in Eucalypt savanna on a variety 
of well drained soils. 
U. ‘Litchfield’ 
Distinguished from U. lagopodioides by the leaflets 
which are linear or linear-lanceolate, 55-165 mm long, 
3-9 mm wide, L/W 13-33. Fig. 32 
Known from few specimens, from Litchfield and 
Nitmiluk NP. Similar in many respects to U. picta 
(Jacq.) Desv. (Qld, Asia) but with fewer leaflets. 
VIGNA Savi 
Twining vines with perennial roots and annual aerial stems, sometimes short-lived perennials or annuals. 
Stipules persistent. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; stipels persistent. Inflorescence few-flowered, racemose, the 
flowers clustered at the apices of axillary peduncles. Bracteoles at base of calyx, persistent or caducous. 
Calyx 5-lobed, the upper lobes usually shorter. Corolla yellow or white to mauve, glabrous. Standard broad, 
shortly clawed with inflexed auricles; wings lamellate; keel petals joined partly on both margins, strongly 
curved or coiled with an orifice below the apex. Stamens 9+1, filaments alternately long and short, the free 
part to c. 1/2; anthers dorsifixed, versatile or fixed. Ovary sessile; style curved or coiled, upper part dilated or 
not, bearded below; stigma lateral. Pod dehiscent, cylindrical or flat. Seeds usually quadrate, with or without 
a caruncle. 
Pantropical genus of c. 150 species; c. 12 species in Australia, 5 in the NT, 4 in the DR. The genus is an 
important source of forage and pulse crops, including V. unguiculata - Cow Pea, Snake Bean; V. mungo - Black 
Gram and V. radiata - Mung Bean (Purseglove, 1968; Macmillan, 1991). The tubers of several species are 
edible or have medicinal uses amongst Aboriginal people. 
