Senna macranthera var. lindenii H.S.Irwin & Barneby

  • Authors

    Howard S. Irwin, Rupert C. Barneby

  • Authority

    Irwin, Howard S. & Barneby, Rupert C. 1982. The American Cassiinae. A synoptical revision of Leguminosae tribe Cassieae subtrib Cassiinae in the New World. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35, part 1: 1-454.

  • Family

    Caesalpiniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Senna macranthera var. lindenii H.S.Irwin & Barneby

  • Type

    Holotypus, K.

  • Description

    Variety Description - Arborescent, flowering at 2.5-7.5 m, with the ample, densely pilosulous foliage and small calyx of var. nervosa; lf-stalk stout, the petiole 1-3.7 cm, the rachis 1-2.5 cm; stipules (little known) ± 4 mm; distal lfts of larger lvs obliquely ovate- elliptic 6-9.5 x 2.5-5.5 cm, the proximal lfts yet more broadly and obliquely ovate (as those of S. bacillaris var. benthamiana); pedicels in fruit 2.5-5 cm; long inner sepals 6-7 x 3-4.5 mm; style 3.5-5 mm; ovules ±76-84; pod 6-11 cm.—Collections: 8. [Key: "Plants of Venezuela, Colombia s. Ecuador and n. (Andean) Peru. Lfts variable in size but pod always short (5-11 cm), 76-104-ovulate. Calyx relatively ample, the largest inner sepal 7-14 x 4.5-8 mm; shrubs 1.5-3 m. Ovules 92-144. Lfts densely softly pilosulous with spreading-incumbent hairs, either on both faces or beneath only. Stature and lfts diverse. Distal lfts of larger lvs 2-6(-7) cm; shrubs to ±3(-4) m; pod 7-10 cm, 112-140-ovulate. Distal lfts of larger lvs 2-6(-6.5) x 0.8-2.5 cm, pilosulous beneath; pod 7-10 cm. Larger distal lfts ample, 6-9.5 x 2.5-5.5 cm; style 3.5-5 mm; Colombia (Cord. Oriental in Santander, Cundinamarca and Boyaca)."]

    Distribution and Ecology - Thickets in fields and relic scrub forest, ±1500-2500 m, on both slopes of Cordillera Oriental in Santander, Boyaca and Cundinamarca, Colombia.—Fl. IX-I.

  • Discussion

    First collected near Soata in 1842-3 by the Belgian horticultural explorer Jean Jules Linden, whose specimens, in flower only, were identified by Bentham as Cassia speciosa (=S. macranthera var. nervosa). The resemblance is close, but later collections from Cordillera Oriental show that the pod of var. lindeni is much shorter than that of genuine var. nervosa, which occurs in the wild state only in southeastern Brazil, its nearest known station distant some 3500 km across the Hylaean forest. The var. nervosa is sympatric with and closely resembles in foliage and dense soft vesture the pubescent form of S. bacillaris var. benthamiana, but is instantly distinguished at anthesis by the strongly anisomorphic fertile stamens proper to S. macranthera. Britton confused the two, the Chamaefistula speciosa of Britton & Killip (1936, l.c.) including elements of each. The Venezuelan S. macranthera var. quadrifoliolata, geographically nearest to var. lindeni, has a similar pod but leaflets only 2-5.5 (not 6-9.5) cm long.

  • Distribution

    Santander Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America|