Senna trolliiflora

  • Title

    Senna trolliiflora

  • Authors

    Howard S. Irwin, Rupert C. Barneby

  • Scientific Name

    Senna trolliiflora H.S.Irwin & Barneby

  • Description

    7.  Senna trolliiflora Irwin & Barneby, sp. nov., signis jam supra sub serie monotypica Trolliifloris expositis ab omnibus distinctissima.—ECUADOR. Napo: secondary forest, Napo road, Limoncocha, III. 1970 (fl, fr jun), Robert N. Mowbray 70366.—Holotypus, TENN = NY Neg. 9452; isotypi, MO, NY.

    Amply leafy trees ±3.5 m with terete striate glabrous older stems and strongly angulate livid-pustulate subglabrous annotinous branchlets, the elongate plurifoliolate lvs bicolored, the thinly chartaceous lfts dull olivaceous above, pallidly olivaceous beneath, densely minutely strigulose on both faces with appressed hairs 0.05-0.15 mm, the inflorescence a condensed leafless cauliflorous panicle of few-fld racemes subappressed-pilosulous with incumbent hairs to 0.2-0.3 mm, the fls themselves little expanding, subglobose.

    Stipules caducous from minutely raised (but not spurlike) scars, those of developed lvs not seen, some subtending reduced lf-stalks subulate 2-3 m.

    Larger lvs 2-3.8 dm; petiole 4-5 cm, including the deeply wrinkled pulvinus 4-5 cm, at middle 1.8-2.3 mm diam, like each segment of rachis rounded dorsally, 2-ridged and openly shallow-sulcate ventrally; rachis 1.6-3.3 dm, the segments between lfts 1.5-3 cm, shorter upward; glands between all pairs of lfts ascending short-stipitate, in profile 1.5-1.8 mm tall, the body slenderly oblong- or clavate- cylindroid or compressed-linguiform 0.4-0.9 mm diam; pulvinules ±2.5 mm; lfts (of major lvs) 8-12 pairs, slightly accrescent upward, symmetrically oblong-elliptic or (distally) -oblanceolate, deltately acute mucronulate, at scarcely oblique base either broadly or narrowly cuneate-decurrent on pulvinule, the margin revolute, the straight centric midrib on upper face immersed, on lower cariniform, the 6-9 major (with some intercalary) secondary veins and the irregular tertiary venulation weakly prominulous on both faces.

    Racemes 3-7-fld, the axis including short peduncle cm; bracts ovate-elliptic concave, densely strigulose dorsally, caducous as the pedicel begins to elongate; fertile pedicels becoming 3.5-5.2 cm; fl-buds globose densely strigulose-pilosulous; sepals firm brownish with pallid submembranous ciliolate margins, coarsely 7-9-nerved from base and reticulate distally, little graduated in length, broadly obovate-oblong to -suborbicular 15-17 x 10-16 mm, permanently imbricate by lateral margins, almost or fully enclosing the corolla; petals yellow, coarsely venulose, puberulent on both faces, short-clawed, obovate-cuneate 13-17 mm, the banner a little longer and wider than the rest; androecium functionally 7-merous, the 3 spatulate staminodes ±2.5 mm, the filaments of the fertile members strigulose, those of 4 median stamens greatly thickened 3 mm, of 3 abaxial ones stoutly linear 3.5 mm, the 4 median anthers stoutly oblong, slightly incurved, 9-10.2 mm, with divaricate 2-porose beak ±0.6 mm, the 3 abaxial anthers much smaller, flask-shaped, the body 4-4.5 mm, the erect 1-porose beak 2-2.4 mm; ovary densely strigulose, the style clavately dilated and 1.5 mm diam just below the introrse stigma; ovules ±210.

    Pod pendulous, the stipe ±7 mm, the body narrowly linear up to ±2 dm, not seen fully formed, when immature 5 mm diam, the expanding ovules 2-senate but the compression of the ripe fruit unknown; seeds not seen.—Collections. 2.

    Disturbed forest and forest margins, below 1000 m, known only from the type- locality in the e. foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes near 1°S and from the lower Maranon basin (Pongo de Manseriche) near 4°30'S in n. Peru. Fl. III-IV.