Lotononis sericophylla

Lotononis sericophylla is a much-branched, usually small shrub covered in fine, adpressed, silky hairs. The willowy branches reach 1,5 m in length.

The leaves are three-foliolate and hairy. The flowers of the  shrub have the typical pea-flower shape of the Fabaceae. The blue and pale yellow flowers have lobed calyces. The keel is longer than the standard and wing petals

The distribution of the species lies in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Free State. In all three provinces the distribution range is only close to the Lesotho border; the plant grows all over Lesotho. The plant was photographed in January in the Mkhomazi Wilderness Area of the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal.

Tthe habitat is grassy ridges and rocky places in summer rainfall conditions. Lotononis sericophylla has a stable population in nature early in the twenty first century, not considered to be under threat (Manning, 2090; iSpot; www.redlist.sanbi.org).