Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Home Research Hub dataZone Galapagos Species Database

Stylosanthes sympodialis Taub.

Escobilla, Escobilla amarilla

Herb, apparently annual, stems to about 45 cm long, puberulent, glabrescent, sometimes glandular-setose; stipules connate to petiole, about 7-10 mm long, teeth about 2-3 mm long; seeds brown, 2-2.5 mm long, 1 mm wide (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).

In arid, rocky situations (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Fabales

Family
Fabaceae

Genus
Stylosanthes

Species
sympodialis

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Stylosanthes psammophila Harms. In Robinson (1902), Stewart (1911), and Christophersen (1932) as Stylosanthes scabra. Wiggins & Porter (1971) report: "According to R. H. Mohlenbrock (1957, 317), the collections of Stylosanthes from the Galápagos Islands are all referable to S. sympodialis. In previous treatments such matrerial was cited as S. scavra Vog., a more suffrutescent and viscid species, known only from the mainland, especially Brazil".

Origin: Native

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: The native range of this species is Galápagos, mainland Ecuador to Peru (POWO, 2023).

References

  • Abbott, I. Abbott, L.K. (1973) New distribution records of 65 plant species within the Galapagos Archipelago. Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS), unpublished.
  • Brako, L. Zarucchi,J.L. (1993) Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45: i–xl, 1–1286.
  • Christophersen, E. (1932) A Collection of Plants from the Galápagos Islands. Nyt Mag. Naturvidenskaberne 70: 67-95.
  • Grant, P.R. Grant, B.R. (1980) The breeding and feeding characteristics of Darwin's finches on Isla Genovesa, Galapagos. Ecological Monographs 50:381-410
  • Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
  • Mohlenbrock, R.H. (1958) A revision of the genus Stylosanthes. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 44(3): 299–354.
  • Robinson, B.L. (1902) Flora of the Galapagos Islands. Papers from the Hopkins-Stanford Expedition to the Galapgaos Islands. Proc. Amer. Acad. 38(4): 78-270.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/
  • Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Van der Werff, H.H. (s.a.) Pers. obs. and colls. Personal observations and collections.
  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Stylosanthes sympodialis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=554. Accessed 31 October 2026.