Bolusanthus Explained

Bolusanthus speciosus (tree wisteria) is a species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. It is the only member of the genus Bolusanthus .^{[1] [2] [3]}

Description

It is a small deciduous tree, which can grow up to 7m (23feet) tall. It has black, fissured rough bark and also drooping branches. Between September and October, when the tree has no leaves it begins to bloom, with lilac blue flowers. Later it produces a seed capsule, the grey pods contain 3-8 smooth, bright yellow or brown seeds.^[4]

The wood is very hard, heavy and yellow in colour. It can be used for axe-handles, wagon spokes and fencing poles. The tree is also grown in gardens due to the attractive flowers.^[4]

Distribution

It is native to KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Provinces (of South Africa), Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.^[5] It is found in low to medium elevations in woodland or wooded grasslands.^[4]

Taxonomy

The genus name of Bolusanthus is in honour of Harry Bolus, (1834 – 1911) who was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist,^[6] and 'anthus' the Greek word for flower.

It was first published and described by (Bolus) Hermann Harms (a German botanist) in Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 2: 15 in 1906.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Plant List entry for Bolusanthus . 2013 . . . 14 May 2014 .
2. Web site: ILDIS LegumeWeb entry for Bolusanthus . . International Legume Database & Information Service . Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics . 14 May 2014 .
3. Web site: GRIN species records of Bolusanthus . USDA . USDA . ARS . Agricultural Research Service . National Genetic Resources Program . Germplasm Resources Information Network—(GRIN) [Online Database] . National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland . 14 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095712/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?1560 . 24 September 2015 . dead .
4. Book: Drummond . R.B. . The Bundu Book of Trees, Flowers and Grasses . 1972 . Longman Rhodesia . Salisbury, Rhodesia . 058257532X . 35 . 2nd.
5. Web site: Bolusanthus speciosus (Bolus) Harms Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 13 August 2023 . en.
6. Book: Burkhardt, Lotte . Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition . Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition . Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin . 2018 . 978-3-946292-26-5 . pdf . German . Berlin . 10.3372/epolist2018 . 1 January 2021.