Flemingia nana Roxb. ex W.T. Aiton (1812: 350)

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 : 24

10. Flemingia nana Roxb. ex W.T. Aiton (1812: 350) . Flemingia congesta var. nana (Roxb. ex W.T.Aiton) Baker (1879: 229) . Lectotype

(designed by Gavade et al. 2016): Flowering specimen in Roxburgh drawing No. 1622

Dwarf shrubs, erect, 15–30 cm tall. Branches stout, very short, glabrescent when old. Petiole 5–10(–18) cm long, narrowly winged; petiolules 3–4 mm long, glabrescent. Stipule ensiform, 1–1.2 cm long, villous, pubescent, apex acuminate, caducous. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate; leaflets papery, subequal; terminal leaflet obovate, lateral leaflets oblong, 7–15 cm long, 6–7 cm wide, apex mucronate, base cuneate to rounded; both leaf surfaces glabrous except for veins, abaxial surface sparsely dark-brown sessile glands; basal veins 3, lateral veins pinnate, 3–4 pairs. Inflorescence racemose, axillary and terminal, cluster of 2–5 racemes, sometime more; inflorescence axis 4–7 cm long, unbranched, glabrescent; bracts lanceolate, caducous. Flower small; pedicel ca. 3 mm long, hairy. Calyx tube campanulate, 3–4 mm long; lobes lanceolate, as long as of the tube, lower one longest; outside covered densely with minute red glands. Corolla pale green to pink, longer than calyx; standard narrowly obovate, shortly clawed, auriculate; wings narrowly elliptic, slenderly clawed, one with auricle; keel oblong, long clawed. Pods elliptic, 8–9 mm long, 4–5 mm diam., gland-dotted and viscous, apex with small acute beak. Seeds 1 or 2, small, brown, orbicular.

Iconography citation: — Roxburgh drawing No.1622 [http://apps.kew.org/floraindica/home.do]

Ecology and phenology: — Flemingia nana grows in mountain slopes and grassland, at 200–1500 m. Flowering and fruiting from March to May.

Distribution: — India, new to China.

Notes: — Flemingia nana is usually misidentified as F. macrophylla at the Chinese herbaria ( Figure 3 ). However, it clearly distinguish from the latter by the morphological character of habit (dwarf shrubs with stout stems vs. erect shrubs with triangular stems), petiole (winged vs. grooved, not winged), leaflet shaped (obovate vs. ovate-lanceolate), inflorescence (axillary and terminal vs. axillary only), inflorescence axis (unbranched vs. branched), flower (smaller in lax racemes vs. larger in congested racemes), corrolla (pink vs. purple). Therefore, F. nana is here reported as a new record for the flora of China.

Representative specimens: — CHINA. Hainan: Bawangling Wulie Forest, Z.X.Li & F.W.Xing 4105 (IBSC-0179720) ( Figure 3 ); Jiangfengling Dingsi Mountain, Peaking Forest Institute 98234 (HITBC-019273).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Flemingia nana, a new record for China (Li & Xing 4105 at IBSC-0179720).