Senna versicolor (Vogel) H.S.Irwin & Barneby var. versicolor

  • 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 versicolor (Vogel) H.S.Irwin & Barneby var. versicolor

  • Type

    Holotypus, collected (Meyen, 1834, l.c.) on the w. shore of the lake between Chucuito and Puno, †B = F Neg. 1766! no isotypus found.—Cassia versicolor Meyen, Obs. Bot. in itinere circum Terram (Nov. Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol. Nat. Curios. 19, suppl. 1)

  • Synonyms

    Cassia versicolor Meyen, Cassia latopetiolata Dombey ex Vogel, Cassia pazensis Rusby

  • Description

    Variety Description - Characters as given in description and key. [Key: "Ovules 10-18; seeds 5.5-8 x 3-4.7 mm, occupying locules 4.5-7 mm long, their areole (2.2-)3-4.8 x (0.9-) 1-1.5 mm; Peru s. from Ancash into w. Bolivia (La Paz); Ecuador."]—Collections: 42.

    Distribution and Ecology - Dry stony hillsides, gravelly washes and rocky ravines in the puna formation, sometimes colonial along road banks and stone walls, descending rarely into the edge of the monte, (2100-)2800-4150 m, common and locally abundant along the crest and plateau of the Peruvian Andes from Ancash to Lago Titicaca in Puno, thence extending into n. La Paz, Bolivia; apparently greatly isolated in similar xeromorphic associations in the Andes of s.-centr. Ecuador (Canar, Pichincha, possibly elsewhere).—Fl. almost throughout the year.

  • Discussion

    In describing Cassia pazensis, Rusby suggested that it was related to C. laevigata (=our Senna floribunda), and associated with it Bang 1985, which is S. mandoni, and Mandon 751 which, as to fruit, but not flower, is S. aymara. The holotypus of C. pazensis is unusual in the species for the low number of leaflets, mostly 6-7 pairs; but these are mostly leaves of lateral branchlets, the primary cauline ones having already fallen.

  • Common Names

    Tumbo

  • Distribution

    Puno Peru South America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Cañar Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America|