Chamaecrista desvauxii var. latifolia

  • Title

    Chamaecrista desvauxii var. latifolia

  • Authors

    Howard S. Irwin, Rupert C. Barneby

  • Scientific Name

    Chamaecrista desvauxii var. latifolia (Benth.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby

  • Description

    1f. Chamaecrista desvauxii (Colladon) Killip var. latifolia (Bentham) Irwin & Barneby, comb. nov. Cassia uniflora var. (y) latifolia Bentham in Martius, Fl. Bras. 15(2): 158. 1870.—". . . in campis mediterraneis prov. Bahiensis: Martius."—Holotypus, Martius 2210, ipso manu Bentham, determinatus, "in campis et ad sylvas Catingas inter V. Caxoeira et Feira da Conceição . . . Febr. [1819]," M! = NY Neg. 9307; isotypi, M (3 sheets)!

    Cassia piauhiensis Irwin, Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 12(1): 61, fig. 341 (map). 1964.—"Brazil, Piauhí, ‘Sud-Piauhy, Campo Grande. Caatinga,’ Dr. v. Luetzelburg 366. May 1914."—Holotypus, NY!

    Exactly as var. desvauxii except for the stipitate petiolar gland, this 0.25-0.5 mm diam, in profile pin-shaped 0.7-1.3 mm tall; foliage either glabrous or the distal lvs sometimes densely short-pilosulous on both faces.

    In caatinga 40-500 m apparently rare, known only from centr. and and w. centr. Bahia and from one station each in n. Minas Gerais (Sa. do Calixto) and s. Piauí (Campo Grande)—Fl. I—II, V.

    The var. latifolia was originally described as intermediate between C. uniflora sens. Bentham (largely our Ch. ramosa) and C. desvauxii (our var. mollissima), approaching the latter in the relatively large flower and, implicitly, in the ampler foliage. The stipitate gland, which is the one, obviously precarious character separating var. latifolia from our var. desvauxii, was not described by Bentham and was overlooked when the essentially identical C. piauhiensis was segregated.

    A manuscript description, Martius Observatio 2210, Cassia glabrata Mart. (nom nud ) is so far at variance with the associated specimen in the characters of glandular pubescence and subequal sepals that it must have been misplaced in mounting and could only refer to some member of sect. Absus.