A new species of Vigna Savi (Fabaceae) from southern Africa

Vigna mudenia B.J. Pienaar, a new species with axillary peduncles up to 150mm long and bearing a single pair of small, cream-coloured flowers at the apex of each peduncle, is described and illustrated. It grows in profusion on southern hillslopes in parts of the Natal midlands thornveld, particularly northwest of Muden village. Old collections of the species are also known from the Barberton and Eshowe areas, but recent efforts to find it in these localities were unsuccessful. V. mudenia belongs to the subgenus Haydonia (Wilcz.) Verdc. and may be recognized by the stems being subalate, with patent hairs; leaflets elliptic; stipules lanceolate with the base ovate, reflexed on mature stems; inflorescences contracted with a pair of cream-coloured (yellowish) flowers; and the style elongation shaped like an erect fingertip