Chamaecrista crenulata ( Bentham 1840: 80 ) Irwin & Barneby (1982: 657)

Mendes, Thainara Policarpo, Souza, Alessandro Oliveira De & Silva, Marcos José Da, 2021, Taxonomic review of Chamaecrista sect. Absus subsect. Absus ser. Paniculatae (Benth.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae), Phytotaxa 495 (1), pp. 1-64 : 26-30

4. Chamaecrista crenulata ( Bentham 1840: 80) Irwin & Barneby (1982: 657) ≡ Cassia crenulata Bentham (1840: 80) . Type: — BRAZIL. Goiás: Serra San Feliz prope Correio”, i.e. on a north spur of Chapada dos Veadeiros in mun. Cavalcante, July 1819, Pohl 5297 (holotype: K000555571!, isotypes: NY00003775!, W0028509!). Figs. 15 and 16

Shrubs or Trees 1.5–3.5 m tall.; Stem with bark longitudinally fissured, dark brown or greyish. Branches cylindrical, pendent, adult branches conspicuously fissured, dark brown or greyish, young branches discreetly fissured, dark brown or greyish, glabrous. Stipules caduceus. Leaves 7.8–10.9 cm long, usually distributed in the branch terminations, ascending; pulvinus 3–6 mm long, discreetly or visibly dilated, not striate; petiole 2−2.5 cm long, cylindrical and sulcate above; rachis 5–8.4 cm long, cylindrical and sulcate above; interfoliolar segments 0.8–1.7 cm long; pulvinule 2–4 mm long; visibly dilated; leaflets 4–6 pairs, carthaceous; blades 2.1–4.6 × 1.2–3 cm, elliptic or oboval-elliptical, margin glandular-crenulate, plane, surface abaxial and adaxial glabrous, base asymmetrically obtuse, apex rounded, with mucron, dark-green, opaque; venation with secondary veins 5–10 pairs, yellow or light green. Panicles 16.1–22.2 cm long, with 4–6 secondary axis, not geminate, terminal or axillary, with flowers laxly distributed, erect, resin-dotted, including external surface of bracts, bracteoles, sepals, buds, ovary and fruits. Bracts 0.6–1 × 0.4–6 mm, deltoid or triangular, apex obtuse, margin entire, yellow or light green, persisted. Bracteoles 0.8–1.1 × 0.4–0.5 mm, deltoid, apex acute, margin entire, yellow or light brown, persistent. Buds 0.9–1.3 cm long, ovoid, green with purplish pigmentation, apex obtuse. Flowers 3.2–4 cm long, pedicel 1.9–2.7 cm long, robust, cylindrical; sepals 2.1–2.7 × 1.1–2.6 cm, oblong-elliptical or oval, apex acute or obtuse, light green or green-yellowish with purplish pigmentation; petals 1.3–1.5 × 0.4–1.5 cm, obovate, with the adaxial petal like a standard, one of the inner petals coiled in the androecium; stamens 0.7–1 cm long, filaments 1 mm long; anthers 0.6–0.9 cm long, not mucronulate at apex. Ovary 0.5–0.8 × 1–1.2 mm; styles 1–1.4 cm long, pubescent. Legume 3–4.8 × 0.4–0.8 cm, narrow-oblong, light green to vinaceous, pubescent. Seeds unknown.

Representative specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Goiás: Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Chapada dos Veadeiros, ca. 15 km south of Alto Paraíso, road to São João de Aliança , 14°16’48’’S, 47°31’12’’W, 1000 m, 19 March 1969, H . S . Irwin 24662 ( NY). ib., Rod. GO-118, 5– 8 km S de Alto Paraíso , 14°07’57’’S, 47°30’34,9’’W, 13 June 1993, (fl.), G . Hatschbach 59351 ( NY); Cavalcante, Balsa do Rio Tocantins (Serra Branca), para Serra Branca km 2, 13°34’26’’S, 48°05’48’’W, 410m, 21 May 2001, (fl., fr.), G . P . Silva 5071 ( CEN); ib., Estrada obra-Rio do Carmo , km 10, 26 May 2002, (fl.), G . P . Silva 6466 ( CEN); Minaçu, Estrada Minaçu Serra da Mesa. Cerca de 8 km da entrada norte, 13°43’08’’S, 48°17’58’’W, 600m, R . C . Oliveira 878 ( CEN) . Tocantins: Paranã, Canteiro de obras do UHE São Salvador, subida do morro do canteiro, próximo a subestação, 12°48’06’’S, 48°13’53’’, 350m, 09 June 2006, (fl., fr.), G . P . Silva 10505 ( CEN). ib., entroncamento da vila Rosário da Balsa do Coronel para a Balsa do Custódio , km 01, 12°59’47’’S, 48°06’46’’, 350m, 16 May 2007, (fl., fr.), G . P . Silva 12002 ( CEN) .

Distribution and ecology: —Species cited by Irwin & Barneby (1982) and And Rando et al. (2020) only for the state of Goiás, and therefore, here first referenced for the state of Tocantins (Fig. 17D). It grows in a cerrado rupestre on clayey, sandy soils or between cracks of rocks between altitudes of 350–1000 meters.

Flowering and fruiting: — Chamaecrista crenulata was collected with flowers and fruits between March and June.

Conservation status: —Although it occurs in areas protected by law, such as the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, in Goiás, Ch. crenulata is here considered to be Vulnerable (criterion B1, subcriteria b i, iii), due to its small area of 6,406.87 km 2, for forming small populations (less than 30 mature individuals) and for being found in a few locations (up to 10).

Morphological relationships and characterization: — Chamaecrista crenulata is more similar to Ch.pachyclada , they share leaves with 4–6 pairs of leaflets with a crenulate margin, young branches and axis of inflorescence with resiniferous dots, buds ovoid, green with vinaceous macules, bracts deltoid or triangular. However, Ch. crenulata is has arboreal habit (vs. shrubby in Ch. pachyclada ), stipules deciduous (vs. persistent), leaflets elliptical or elliptical-oboval (vs. oval-oblong, oblong-orbicular or oblong), and bracteoles deltoid (vs. oval).