Cassia lavradioides

  • Title

    Cassia lavradioides

  • Authors

    Howard S. Irwin, Rupert C. Barneby

  • Scientific Name

    Cassia lavradioides Benth.

  • Description

    132.  Cassia lavradioides Bentham in Martius, Fl. Bras. 15 (2): 137. 1870. — "Habitat in Brasilia centrali, loco accuratius haud indicato: Pohl. Specimen unicum vidi in Herb. Mart." —Holotypus, Pohl s. n., anno 1818, BR! = NY Neg. 8915.

    Cassia oppositifolia Glaziou in Mem. Soc. Bot. France 1 (3): 162. 1905, nom. nud.—"Serra dos Crystaes, dans le campo, GOYAZ, no. 21006. . — Spm. authent.: K = IPA Neg. 1163, P!

    Cespitose undershrubs 3-6 dm, with many slender simple or at apex few- and short- branched stems arising erect from a massive xylopodium, glabrous and glutinous throughout, the brownish-stramineous stems in lower 1/4 smooth and at anthesis leafless, upward densely leafy and distally livid-verruculose, the foliage resinously lustrous, concolorous but conspicuously resin-dotted or minutely verrucose beneath, the pseudo-corymbosely few-flowered racemes subterminal, leafy-bracteate, not or only shortly exserted from foliage.

    Stipules erect, firm, subulate or linear-subulate, 0.8-2 mm, persistent.

    Lvs strictly ascending, shortly petioled, (2)3-6 cm, subuniform in size except the lowermost and those in the inflorescence where smaller; pulvinus broader than long, ±0.5.1 mm, wrinkled when dry; petiole (1.5-)2-5.5 mm, 1-1.3 mm diam, widely openly suicate and narrowly bialate ventrally; rachis reduced to a small subulate appendage; lfts 1 pair, ascending vertical to the meridian, turned half face to face on wrinkled pulvinule less than 0.5 mm, in outline subsymmetrically oblanceolate to spathulate-oblanceolate, at apex broadly rounded to truncate-emarginate, (1.5)2.5-5.8 x (0.5)0.6-2.2 cm, at base gradually attenuate on both sides into the pulvinule, the margins plane, minutely crenulate and livid-verruculose, the blades (dry) firmly chartaceous, olivaceous or brown, glutinously lustrous both sides or duller beneath, smooth above, minutely verruculose or simply resin-dotted beneath, the stout tapering, centric, straight or obscurely incurved midrib above immersed or faintly prominulous, beneath strongly elevated and cariniform, the ±5-9 pairs of major secondary veins prominulous both sides but slightly more so beneath, the tertiary venation faint and irregular.

    Racemes axillary to the 2-5 uppermost leaves of the main axis or of its 1-2 distal branchlets, at first subcombosely 3-12 flowered, the axis becoming ± 3-7.5 cm, the one expanded flower standing ± at level of the next bud; bracts linear-subulate, 2.5-3.5 mm, subpersistent; pedicels ascending, 12-22 mm, bracteolate 1.5-6 mm below calyx; bracteoles subulate 1-1.2 mm, persistent; buds ovoid-acuminate, densely glandular-verruculose and glutinously lustrous; sepals yellow, at anthesis subhorizontally spreading, the outer elliptic- acuminate, 10.5-13 x 3.5 mm, the inner more broadly elliptic and acute, petaloid-margined; petals yellow, 4 subhomomorphic, widely spreading-incurved, broadly obovate-cuneate, up to 13-14.5 x 7-9 mm, the fifth obliquely half-obovate-oblanceolate, firmer, coiled; ovary densely glandular-verruculose.

    Pod stiffly erect, narrowly oblong, abruptly attenuate both ends, 4-4.5 x 0.8 cm, the reddish-brown valves densely glandular-verruculose; seeds unknown. — Collections: 4. — Plate 20.

    Cerrado, 1175-1200 m, local, known only from Sa. dos Cristais in s.-e. Goias (near 17° S, 48° W). - Fl. XI-IV.