Cassia rotundifolia Pers.

• Authority

  Isley, Duane. 1975. Leguminosae of the United States: II. Subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25 (2): 1-228.

• Family

  Caesalpiniaceae

• Scientific Name

  Cassia rotundifolia Pers.

• Description

  Species Description - Prostrate, pubescent, annual herb with numerous stems .5-3 dm from a taproot, capable of forming extensive mats. Indument either pilose or puberulent or both. Leaf petiole 2-6 mm, bearing a single terminal pair of leaflets and lacking a gland; leaflets asymmetric-obovate, strongly nerved, 5-25 mm, 1.2-1.7 r. Stipules conspicuous, persistent, striate, ca 5 mm. Flowers nodding on erect, axillary, solitary or paired, slender, usually bracteate pedicels, 1-2 cm in flower, to 3 cm in fruit. Sepals acute, equal, 3-4 mm; corolla yellow, 6-9 mm diam; functional stamens 5, unequal. Legume elastically dehiscent, oblong, flat, 1.5-4 cm long, 3-4 mm wide, puberulent to glabrate. Seeds few-many.

• Discussion

  Chamaecrista rotundifolia (Pers.) Greene (1899) CN n = 8 (Irwin and Turner, 1960); 2n = 16 Miège (1960a; Krapovickas, 1965). Although Cassia rotundifolia was introduced at the Subtropical Horticulture Station in Miami some years ago (NA) and is said to have been naturalized at Orlando in 1930 (correspondence at NY), the present report is based on recent scattered collections from Hillsborough, Osceola, Sumter, and Seminole counties, Florida. Since C. rotundifolia is an abundant pasture weed in tropical America, it may well persist in south Florida. Beyond the 2n = 16, Miège (1960a) and Krapovickas (1965) both report somatic root-tip polyploidy.

• Distribution

  Florida. Local in ruderal or disturbed habitats. Native of tropical America. All year.