Pterolobium stellatum
Pterolobium stellatum, the redwing, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae.
Range and habitat
It is the only member of the genus to occur in Africa, where it has an extensive but easterly range, from northern South Africa to Sudan, Ethiopia and on to Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula. They are found on rocky slopes and kopjes, riparian floodplains, or along forest margins.Description
Young plants are hairy on the stems and leaves, while mature plants have scrambling rope-like branches that are armed with recurved thorns or conical knobs. The alternate and bipinnately compound leaves consist of 5 to 13 paired primary leaflets, and 7 to 16 paired leaflets per pinna. The underside of the rachis carries pairs of recurved thorns, or solitary straight ones.They produce cream-coloured inflorescences composed of dense compound racemes. These are sweetly scented and attract quantities of bees and butterflies. They produce colourful brick-red to scarlet samaroid fruit, typical of their genus, which turn brown with age. The species may be confused with Caesalpinia decapetala, which however has larger yellow flowers, and clusters of brown seed pods.