Tephrosia purpurea(L.) Pers.

Hawaiian Fish Poisoning Plantfishpoison

WFO wfo-0000203860 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by Noeleen du Toit
fig. a Noeleen du Toit, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-05-02 / obs. 194257500
Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by Rosemary Harrison
fig. b Rosemary Harrison, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 179824200
Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by 國立臺灣博物館
fig. c 國立臺灣博物館, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 175304028
Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by Haneesh K M
fig. d Haneesh K M, CC0 1.0 / obs. 157914727
Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by Haneesh K M
fig. e Haneesh K M, CC0 1.0 / obs. 157914692
Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. f Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 150247163
Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. g Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 149898376
Tephrosia purpurea, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. h Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 149989629

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 92 botanical countries

Regions where Tephrosia purpurea is native: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Gulf States, Hainan, Iran, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Taiwan, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Queensland, Fiji, New Caledonia, Niue, Samoa, Society Is., Tonga, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is. AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadCongoDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastGulf StatesHainanIranOmanPalestineSaudi ArabiaSinaiTaiwanYemenAssamBangladeshCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaQueenslandFijiNew Caledonia Cape VerdeComorosLaccadive Is.South China SeaNiueSamoaSociety Is.TongaTubuai Is.VanuatuWallis-Futuna Is.
Native distribution of Tephrosia purpurea, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Angola ANG
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Caprivi Strip CPV
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Gulf States GST
Hainan CHH
Iran IRN
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Taiwan TAI
Yemen YEM
Fiji FIJ PACIFIC
New Caledonia NWC
Niue NUE
Samoa SAM
Society Is. SCI
Tonga TON
Tubuai Is. TUB
Vanuatu VAN
Wallis-Futuna Is. WAL
Queensland QLD AUSTRALASIA

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Flowering 86 in flower of 99 examined

Peak flowering in Feb. Each bar is the share of Tephrosia purpurea observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 86 of 99 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 2 months have fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for them. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 76 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cracca apollinea (Delile) A.Lyons
  • Cracca canescens (E.Mey.) Kuntze
  • Cracca diffusa (Roxb.) Kuntze
  • Cracca leptostachya (DC.) Rusby
  • Cracca maxima L.
  • Cracca piscatoria (Aiton) A.Lyons
  • Cracca purpurea L.
  • Cracca wallichii (Fawc. & Rendle) Rydb.
  • Galega apollinea Delile
  • Galega coerulea Rottler ex Wight & Arn.
  • Galega colonila Buch.-Ham.
  • Galega diffusa Roxb.
  • Galega lanceaefolia Roxb.
  • Galega lanceifolia (Link) Roxb.
  • Galega lancifolia Roxb.
  • Galega littoralis G.Forst.
  • Galega piscatoria Aiton
  • Galega prostrata K.D.Koenig ex Wight & Arn.
  • Galega purpurea (L.) L.
  • Galega sericea Buch.-Ham.
  • Galega tinctoria Lam.
  • Glycyrrhiza mairei H.Lév.
  • Indigofera flexuosa Graham
  • Orobos piscidius (Spreng.) St.-Lag.

and 52 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.