''Smithia purpurea'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of plant in the

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

family.

Description

A small annual herb with an erect stem that grows to a height of and has spreading branches. Leaves are pinnate, leaflets with a bristle at the tip. Flowers purple, about 1 cm across, occur in racemes of 6-12 flowers. The standard petal has two bright white dots.

Range

Western Ghats, India

Habitat

In open moist sunny areas on basaltic outcrops and is abundant on

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

mesas with an elevation of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

Ecology

In patches on open plateaux, banks of streamlets, road sides and farm bunds of

Ghat Ghat (), a term used in the Indian subcontinent, to refer to the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aap ...

regions. More frequently encountered near village environs and disturbed places.

Etymology

The genus is named after British botanist and physician Sir James Edward Smith and the specific epithet refers to the purple colour of the flower.

References

Flora of India (region) Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Plants described in 1847 Dalbergieae {{Dalbergieae-stub