Cassia viscosa Humb., Bonpl. & Kunth var. viscosa
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Authors
Howard S. Irwin, Rupert C. Barneby
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Authority
Irwin, Howard S. & Barneby, Rupert C. 1978. Monographic studies in Cassia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae). III. Sections Absus and Grimaldia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 30: 1-300.
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Family
Caesalpiniaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Holotypus, collected by Humboldt and Bonpland in IX. 18, P (hb. H. B. K. no. 1805)! — Grimaldia viscosa (H. B. K.) Britton & Killip in Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 35: 187. 1936. — C. viscosa sensu Bentham, 1871, minore pro parte.
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Synonyms
Cassia viscosa Kunth, Grimaldia standleyi Britton & Rose, Cassia standleyi (Britton & Rose) Standl., Grimaldia colombiana Britton & Rose, Cassia glutinosa DC.
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Description
Species Description - Lvs (2-)3-8.5 cm, the petiole 1-3 cm, the rachis (0.5-)0.7-1.5 cm, the larger lfts of primary cauline lvs 1.5-5 cm, these varying from ovate or elliptic to obovate-elliptic, obtuse to sharply deltate- or triangular-apiculate, exceptionally emarginate; inflorescence more paniculate than thyrsiform; sepals (6.5-)7.5-10(-11) mm; petals yellow or orange-yellow, up to 13-19(-20.5) mm; pod 2-4 x (-0.6)0.65-0.9 cm, hispidulous with setae up to (0.6-)0.7-1.5(-2) mm. — Collections: 36.
Distribution and Ecology - Habitats various, in Colombia and Venezuela ascending from lowland savanna (llano) at 300-450 m up to 1200 m about thickets and along streams in the foothills of Magdalena Valley and Cordillera Oriental, on Gran Sabana entering morichal, in Mexico mostly in oak or oak-pine woodland at 500-1100 m, widely but discontinuously dispersed, most abundant in Colombia on both slopes of the eastern cordillera from Santander to Huila, thence extending feebly to the Pacific slope in Cauca (headwaters of Rio Patia), on the Orinoco slope and adjoining llanos n. from Cordillera Macarena into Venezuela (near Pedraza, Barinas), disjunct on the Gran Sabana in Bolivar, Venezuela (Kamarata; foot of Auyantepui); again widely disjunct and highly localized on the Pacific slope of Sierras Madre Occidental and Sur in Mexico between centr. Sinaloa (Cerro Colorado, mun. Culiacan) and adjacent Nayarit (Acaponeta) and s. Guerrero (mun. Petatlan and Acapulco). — Fl. in Mexico mostly X-IV, in Colombia and Venezuela nearly through the year. "Crescit in Mesa de Cuello, juxta Contreras et Ibague, alt. 418 hex. (Regno Novo-Granatensi)."
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Discussion
Despite the vast discontinuities between the major area occupied by var. viscosa in Colombia and the outlying populations in Mexico and eastern Venezuela, we can find no tangible morphological differences. On the Gran Sabana var. viscosa is apparently found only on seasonally moist savanna near 450 m comparable to the llanos of northeastern Colombia, whereas the almost sympatric populations of var. major are encountered only at and above 1000 m. The three extensive Mexican populations of var. viscosa, mutually disjunct in Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Guerrero respectively, are as might be expected not identical in all details, the glandular pubescence being much exaggerated in Nayarit, and the flower in Guerrero larger. The last has, according to Langlasse, coppery-orange flowers, but we have no record of the fresh color from other stations. In Colombia both yellow and orange-yellow petals are reported by collectors, the orange perhaps taken from faded flowers.
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Distribution
Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Mexico North America| Santander Colombia South America| Huila Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Barinas Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Sinaloa Mexico North America| Nayarit Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America|