Viguieranthus glaber (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Fibre

Viguieranthus glaber Villiers

Protologue: Du Puy, Legum. Madagascar: 276 (2002).

Family: Mimosaceae (Leguminosae - Mimosoideae)

Viguieranthus glaber is endemic to the northern and north-western parts of Madagascar.

The stems of Viguieranthus glaber are used for making brooms.

The wood has a bad smell.

Much branched shrub up to 2 m tall or small tree up to 12 m tall; bark splitting, yellowish grey; young branches grey-brown to grey, thinly pubescent, with red glandular hairs. Leaves alternate, bipinnately compound with a single pair of pinnae; stipules leathery, persistent; petiole 2–13 mm long, with raised, winged margins and gland at apex on upper side; pinna axis 1–3.5 cm long, with winged margins; leaflets 7–23 per pinna, alternate to almost opposite, sessile, rhombic to obovate, up to 16 mm × 7 mm, asymmetrical at base, obtuse to rounded at apex, glabrous. Inflorescence an axillary head, solitary or in clusters, many-flowered; peduncle 2–5 cm long. Flowers bisexual, regular, 4-merous; calyx cup-shaped, c. 1 mm long, leathery; petals fused at base, 4.5–5 mm long, white; stamens numerous, c. 10 mm long, fused over 2–3 mm; ovary superior, stalked, 1-celled, style up to 16 mm long, slender. Fruit a linear-oblanceolate pod up to 13.5 cm × 1 cm, with long stipe, short soft-hairy, black, splitting into 2 valves. Seeds rhombic to oblong, up to 11 mm × 6 mm, black.

Viguieranthus comprises about 23 species, 18 of them endemic to Madagascar, 1 occurring in both the Comoros and Madagascar and the other 5 species restricted to tropical Asia.

Viguieranthus glaber is found in dry thickets and woodland from sea-level up to 500 m altitude.

In view of the fairly large distribution area of Viguieranthus glaber in Madagascar, it is not liable to genetic erosion.

Viguieranthus glaber will remain of local importance for making brooms.

• Boiteau, P., Boiteau, M. & Allorge-Boiteau, L., 1999. Dictionnaire des noms malgaches de végétaux. 4 Volumes + Index des noms scientifiques avec leurs équivalents malgaches. Editions Alzieu, Grenoble, France.

• du Puy, D.J., Labat, J.N., Rabevohitra, R., Villiers, J.-F., Bosser, J. & Moat, J., 2002. The Leguminosae of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 750 pp.

• ILDIS, 2005. World database of Legumes, Version 10,01. International Legume Database & Information Service. [Internet] http://www.ildis.org/. April 2011.

• Lewis, G., Schrire, B., MacKinder, B. & Lock, M., 2005. Legumes of the world. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 577 pp.

• C.H. Bosch, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Bosch, C.H., 2011. Viguieranthus glaber Villiers. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. Brink, M. & Achigan-Dako, E.G. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>.

Accessed 31 May 2025.

• See the Prota4U database.