3810.000 Alysicarpus Desv.

Herbs. Stipules free or joined; stipels present. Leaves 1-foliolate, rarely pinnately 3-foliolate. Inflorescences axillary, terminal or leaf-opposed, falsely racemose or rarely paniculate; the flowers usually paired. Bracts scarious. Calyx glumaceous, appearing 4-lobed, the 2 upper calyx teeth entirely connate or almost so. Standard variously coloured. Ovary sessile or shortly stalked with several-many ovules. Pod transversely jointed, subcylindric or somewhat flattened, constricted between the articles or not.

Comment: All species present in Malawi have very similar flowers; the leaves in the species are variable and can be similar. The only reliable way to identify specimens at species level is when fruit are present.

Worldwide: 25 species in the Old World tropics

Malawi: 5 taxa.