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Fabaceae FAMILY

Sphenostylis erecta

Sphenostylis erecta

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The roots contain substances that are toxic to fish and other cold-blooded animals. The surfaces are scraped and the scrapings thrown into a pond to stun the fish, which are then harvested and used for food[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Climber
Growth—

The plant usually appears after fire[2]. The plant often flowers on old wood before new leaves appear[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[3].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sphenostylis+erecta>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Economic Botany of Sphenostylis (Leguminosae) — Potter D. · 1992 · http://www.jstor.org/stable/4255442 ↩︎
  2. [2]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
  5. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎