Chamaecrista falcinella var. parviflora (Steyaert) Lock
Creators: name: Musandiwa, Liada
name: Magee, Anthony R.
name: Boatwright, James S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Fabales
Fabaceae
Chamaecrista
Chamaecrista falcinella

description: 6a. CHAMAECRISTA FALCINELLA var. PARVIFLORA (Steyaert) Lock, Kew. Bull. 43: 336 (1988); Brummitt in Fl. Zambesiaca 3 (2): 132 (2007). <i>Cassia flacinella</i> var. <i>parviflora</i> Steyaert in Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat 20: 251 (1950); in F.C.B. 3: 521 (1952); Brenan in Kew Bull. 14: 179 (1960); Brenan in F.T.E.A., Legum.-Caesalp.: 91 (1967); Gordon-Gray in F.S.A. 16(2): 101 (1977). TYPE: RWANDA. Gabiro, <i>Becquet 613</i> (holotype: BR [BR0000008955234]–image!.). Annual herbs to 0.6 m high. Stems erect, slightly woody at the base, with long spreading and short curved hairs. Leaves paripinnate, 25–55 × 7–15 mm, oblong, slightly tapering distally; stipules 9–14 mm long, narrowly falcate, base oblique, apex acuminate, margin ciliate; extrafloral nectaries, sessile to sub-sessile, elliptic to circular, 0.5–1.0 × 0.3–0.5 mm; rachis channelled, with long straight or curved hairs. Leaflets 10–19- jugate, 4–15 × 2.5–4.0 mm, slightly curved towards the tip, narrowly oblong to ovate, base asymmetric, apex mucronate, midrib close to the end of one margin, margin pubescent or ciliate. Inflorescence supra-axillary, 1–3 flowered; flowers 5–7 × 4–7 mm long; bract narrowly triangular, base oblique, apex acuminate; bracteoles 2, with long curved hairs, towards top of pedicels. Pedicels with long curved spreading hairs, at flowering 10–25 mm long. Sepals 5, ovate, 5–9 × 1.5–2.0 mm, covered with short hairs. Petals 5, obovate. 4–6 × 2–5 mm. Stamens 10, straight or slightly curved, anthers in two series, 5 small 1.5–2.0 mm long, 5 large 4–5 mm long, filaments very short 1 mm long. Ovary ± 5 mm long, densely covered with white hairs, style ± 1 mm long, glabrous, slightly curved. Pods 20–50 × 4–5 mm, sparsely covered with long soft hairs or glabrescent. Seeds 2–3 × 1–2 mm, rhomboid, flattened, with dark dots at the top. <i> <i>Diagnostic Characters</i> — Chamaecrista falcinella var. <i>parviflora</i> is distinguished by the elliptic to circular, sessile to sub-sessile extrafloral nectaries. The species resembles <i>Chamaecrista biensis</i> in having small flowers and short pedicels, but can be distinguished by the narrowly falcate stipules (straight in <i>C. biensis</i>), and 10–19 leaflets (7–36 leaflets in <i>C. biensis</i>).</i> <i> <i>Distribution and Ecology</i> — Chamaecrista falcinella var. <i>parviflora</i> is widespread in Namibia from Karakuwisa to Grootfontein extending to Mata Mata in the Northern Cape Province (Fig. 9). <i>Chamaecrista falcinella</i> var. <i>parviflora</i> grows in grasslands in sandy or well-drained soil at elevations below 1000 m. Flowering is from February–April.</i> <b> <i>Additional Specimens Examined</i> — Namibia. —1819 (Karakuwisa): Cigarrete, NE of Karakuwise (–BA), 8 Feb 1953, <i>Maguire 2437</i> (NBG)</b> . <b>1820 (Tarikora):</b> near pan, Shakambu (–AA), 05 Apr 2006, <i>Horn HOR2/357</i> (WIND); Ndonga Camp at junction of Omuramba Omatako and Okavango River (–BA), 12 Feb 1956, <i>De Winter &amp; Marais 4619</i> (PRE); 10 miles (ca. 16 km) north of Tamso on road to Kapupahedi (–DA), 17 Feb 1956, <i>De Winter &amp; Marais 4728</i> (PRE). <b>1821 (Andara):</b> southern border of Mahango Game Reserve (–BC), 22 Feb 1988, <i>Hines 992</i> (WIND); <b>1917 (Atavi):</b> north of Kombat on Farm Gauss (–DA), 02 Mar 1995, <i>Germishuizen 7309</i> (PRE). <b>1918 (Grootfontein):</b> Grootfontein North (–AA), 04 Mar 1958, <i>Merxmuller 1788</i> (PRE); 12 miles (ca. 19.3 km) from Otovi Farm (–AA), 2 Apr 1965, <i>Hardy 2116</i> (PRE). <b>South Africa.</b> — NORTHERN CAPE: <b>(2520): (Mata Mata):</b> Kalahari Park [Kgalagadi Park] (–DB), Feb 1978, <i>Van der Walt 5775</i> (PRE).
description: Published as part of <i>Musandiwa, Liada, Magee, Anthony R. &amp; Boatwright, James S., 2022, A Taxonomic Revision of Chamaecrista (Caesalpinioideae, Cassieae, Cassiinae) in Southern Africa, pp. 992-1011 in Systematic Botany (Basel, Switzerland) (Basel, Switzerland) 47 (4)</i> on page 1003, DOI: 10.1600/036364422x16674053033831, http://zenodo.org/record/8117056