Flemingia strobilifera (Linnaeus, 1753) Aiton, 1812

Do, Truong Van & Gao, Xin-Fen, 2020, Taxonomic revision of the genus Flemingia (Leguminosae) from Indo-Chinese floristic region, Phytotaxa 429 (1), pp. 1-38 : 19-20

3. Flemingia strobilifera (L.) W.T. Aiton (1812: 349). Hedysarum strobiliforum L. (1753: 764). Type:— INDIA. Linne 921.21 (Holotype,

LINN!)

Flemingia bracteata (Roxb.) Wight (1840: 268) . Flemingia strobilifera var. bracteata (Roxb.) Baker (1876: 227) . Hedysanim bracteatum

Roxb. (1832: 351). Type:— INDIA. Roxburgh s.n. (Holotype, BR-0000005172634!).

Flemingia fruticulosa Wall. ex Benth. (1852: 245) . Flemingia strobilifera var. fruticulosa Baker (1876: 227) . Type:— INDIA. Wall. Cat.

5754A (Holotype, K-001122023!; isotype, BM-000884630!, BM-000958664!, G-00365320!).

Flemingia tiliacea Niyomdham (1992: 343) . Type :— THAILAND. Chieng Mai, alt. 525 m, Rock 1819 (Holotype, A!; isotype, US!), syn.

nov.

Shrubs, erect or almost climbing, much branched, 1–3 m tall. Branchlets ribbed, slender, densely gray to brown villous. Petiole 0.5–2.5 cm long, densely hairy. Stipules linear-lanceolate, 0.6–1.4 cm long, caducous. Leaves 1-foliolate, leaf blade ovate, narrowly ovate, ovate-elliptic, broadly elliptic, or oblong, 6–14 cm long, 3–7 cm wide, thinly leathery, glabrous or almost glabrous except for veins, base rounded, slightly cordate, apex acuminate, obtuse, or acute; lateral veins pinnate, 6–10 pairs, prominent on abaxial surface. Inflorescence a thyrse, terminal or axillary, sometimes branched; inflorescence axes 6–15 cm long, zigzag, densely dun villous; cymules each enclosed by concave bracts; bract large, broadly orbicular-ovate, 1.5–2.5 cm diam., membranous, persistent, both surfaces long hirsute, margin ciliate, apex truncate or rounded, slightly emarginated and with slender mucro, base cordate, shortly stalked. Flowers small; pedicel 1.5–3 mm long. Calyx 6–7 mm long, pubescent; calyx lobes ovate, slightly longer than tube. Corolla white, 9–10 mm long, longer than calyx; standard 8 mm long, broadly orbicular with lilac lines; wings narrower than keels. Pods oblong to elliptic, 6–10 mm long, 4–5 mm diam., sparsely pubescent, inflated. Seeds 2 or 1, usually dark brown, suborbicular.

Iconography citation: — Nguyen (1979: 139): plate 22, figures 17–23; Wei (1995: 317): plate 75, figure 3; Pham (1999: 970), figure 3886.

Ecology and phenology: — Flemingia strobilifera grows in mountain slopes and grassland, at 200–1500 m. Flowering March to August and fruiting from April to October.

Distribution: — China, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Notes: — Niyomdham (1992) originally described F. tiliacea from Chiang Mai, Thailand and distinguished it from F. strobilifera by having a thicker bract, a big flower and a narrower calyx lobe. These morphological characters are however, usually variable. Therefore, F. tiliacea is not enough to be distinct from F. strobilifera , here considered as a new synonym of F. strobilifera . This species is most like F. fluminalis by sharing a thyrse inflorescence with flowers enclosed by large folded bracts. However, it clearly differs from the latter by the morphological characters of leaflet blade, petiole, and inflorescence ( Do et al. 2018).

Representative specimens: — VIETNAM. Thua Thien Hue: Squires 295 (P). Quang Tri: Hon Rao-A Dua, Poilane 13620 (P, AAU). Da Nang: Clemens 3629 (P). Kon Tum: Dak To, Poilane 18496 (P). Dak Lac: Plao Sieng, Schmid 766 (AAU). Khanh Hoa: Ninh Hoa, Poilane 6265 (P, AAU). Dong Nai: Gia Ray, Chevalier 39879 (P), Poilane 2529 (AAU) ; Bara, Poilane 17341 (P, AAU). Tien Giang: Tan Duc, Hanh 29 (P). Kien Giang: Phu Quoc, Contest-Lacour 34 (P) . LAOS. Louang Prabang: Pottier 711 (P). Champassak: Bassac, Thorel 2344 (P) . THAILAND. Nan: Tham Pa Tok, K.Larsen et al. 44407 (AAU). Satun: Tarutao National Park , G.Congdon 433 (AAU). Chiang Mai: Mae Dtang, J.F.Maxwell 90-1304 (AAU, BKF). Nai Chong: Khap Thong Thai, B.Hansen & T.Smitinand 12011 (AAU). Thonburi: J.F.Maxwell 70-17 (AAU) . CHINA. Yunnan: H.Wang 8722 (HITBC) ; Xishuangbana, Mengla, Y.H. Li 3907 (HITBC) ; Kunming, Tiefengyu, B. Qiu 55089 (PE) ; Malipo, K.M.Feng 13800 (PE); Lung-ling Hsien, H.T. Tsai 56676 (PE) ; Hill around Yengyueh, G.Forrest 8634 (PE). Guangdong: Huaiji, Xingang, G.L.Shi 14596 (IBSC). Guizhou: Xingren, Baling, Guizhou Team 7719 (IBSC). Guangxi: Jialong, on way to Liuchengyu, Y.K. Li P 01854 (IBSC). Hainan: Lingshui Li, Qizhishan, Z.Huang 36193 (IBSC) .