Crotalaria verrucosa Linnaeus (1753:715)

Flores, Andréia Silva & Tozzi, Ana Maria Goulart De Azevedo, 2018, A synopsis of the genus Crotalaria (Leguminosae) in Brazil, Phytotaxa 346 (1), pp. 31-58 : 55

39. Crotalaria verrucosa Linnaeus (1753:715) .

Lectotype (designated by Polhill 1971):— SRI LANKA. P. Hermann, folio 3:4, sub n. 277 (BM 621801 digital image!)

Subshrubs 0.5–1 m high; branches 4-angled, often flexuous, thinly pubescent; internodal stem wings absent. Leaves simple, blades trullate or elliptic, 3.2–5.8 × 2.5–4 cm, puberulous or glabrescent on both surfaces; stipules 5–17 × 5–10 mm, ovate- falcate to semi- lunate, persistent. Inflorescence a raceme, 8.5–15 cm long, terminal or opposite to a leaf; peduncles 1.5–4.5 cm long. Flowers 10–15, pedicels 3–4 mm long; bracts 1–3 × 2 mm, linear- lanceolate, persistent; bracteoles 1–2 × 1 mm, linear- lanceolate, persistent; calyx 8–10 mm long, 5 lobes subequals, longer than the tube, puberulous; corolla pale blue; the standard petal 1–1.2 × 1–1.2 cm; wing petals 1–1.3 cm long; keel petals 1.2–1.3 cm long, twisted; ovary 5mm long, stipitate; style geniculate. Legumes 3.4–4 × 0.8–1 cm, oblong- clavate, puberulous or pubescent, brown at the maturity, ca. 15-seeded. Seeds 4 × 4 mm, seed coat brown.

Distribution and Ecology: — Crotalaria verrucosa is native to tropical Asia. In Brazil it is naturalized in open areas mainly in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Selected specimens studied: — BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Coronel Pacheco, 25 February 1941, Heringer 544 ( VIC). Rio de Janeiro: Araruama, 14 August 1975, Sucre 773 ( UB) ; Cabo Frio, morro da Gamboa, 24 June 1967, Sucre 1513 ( UB). São Paulo: Campinas, Fazenda Santa Elisa, 13 April 1943, Viégas s.n. ( IAC 7190 ) .