Tephrosia villosa(L.) Pers.

WFO wfo-0000204506 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Tephrosia villosa, photographed by S.MORE
fig. a S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / 2020-10-12 / obs. 104486537
Tephrosia villosa, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. b Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 137841853
Tephrosia villosa, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. c Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 131504385
Tephrosia villosa, photographed by Swarochi Tathagath
fig. d Swarochi Tathagath, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 146801046
Tephrosia villosa, photographed by Siddarth Machado
fig. e Siddarth Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60578873
Tephrosia villosa, photographed by Siddarth Machado
fig. f Siddarth Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60578966
Tephrosia villosa, photographed by Siddarth Machado
fig. g Siddarth Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60578503
Tephrosia villosa, photographed by Siddarth Machado
fig. h Siddarth Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60833170

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Native range 32 botanical countries

Regions where Tephrosia villosa is native: Angola, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya AngolaEgyptEritreaEthiopiaIvory CoastKenyaMadagascarMalawiMozambiqueNamibiaNorthern ProvincesSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZimbabweSaudi ArabiaYemenAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MyanmarNepalPakistanSri LankaThailandVietnamWest Himalaya
Native distribution of Tephrosia villosa, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Northern Provinces TVL
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Saudi Arabia SAU ASIA-TEMPERATE
Yemen YEM

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.

Also published as 20 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 incana (Roxb.) Pires de Lima
  • Cracca villosa L.
  • Cracca villosa var. incana (Roxb.) Hiern
  • Cracca villosa var. purpurea Kuntze
  • Galega argentea Lam.
  • Galega barba-jovis Burm.f.
  • Galega colutea Willd.
  • Galega incana Roxb.
  • Galega villosa (L.) L.
  • Galega villosa var. hirsutior Roth
  • Tephrosia argentea Pers.
  • Tephrosia barba-jovis (Burm.f.) Cufod.
  • Tephrosia ehrenbergiana Schweinf.
  • Tephrosia incana (Roxb.) Sweet
  • Tephrosia incana (Roxb.) Graham ex Wight
  • Tephrosia incana (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.
  • Tephrosia incana var. horizontalis Blatt. & Hallb.
  • Tephrosia villosa var. argentea Thwaites
  • Tephrosia villosa var. ehrenbergiana (Schweinf.) Brummitt
  • Tephrosia villosa var. incana (Roxb.) Baker

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. 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.