Crotalaria trichotoma Bojer (1835:265)

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 : 53-54

35. Crotalaria trichotoma Bojer (1835:265) .

Neotype (designated by Polhill 1990): — “ Cult. in Hort. Mauritius e Madagascaria ”, undated, H.M. Bojer s.n. (K 000227294 digital image!)

Crotalaria zanzibarica Bentham (1843: 548)

Type: — TANZANIA, Zanzibar, I., undated, H.M. Bojer s.n. (holotype K 000412617 digital image!).

Shrub or subshrub, 1–2 m high; branches finely pubescent; internodal stem wings absent. Leaves 3– foliolate, digitate, petioles 2.5–5 cm long; leaflets oblong- elliptic or elliptic, 4–8.5 × 1.5–2.5 cm, puberulous above, glabrous beneath; stipules 1–2 mm long, linear. Inflorescence a raceme, 2–9 cm long, terminal; peduncles 2.2–5 cm long. Flowers 25–50, pedicels 5–8 mm long; bracts 1–2 mm long, linear, persistent; bracteoles 1 mm long, linear, persistent; calyx 4–5 mm long, lobes same length or smaller than the tube, puberulous; corolla yellow, veined reddish brown; the standard petal 1.2–1.5 × 0.9–1.1 cm; wing petals 1.3–1.5 cm long; keel petals 1.2–1.5 cm long, untwisted; ovary 5–7 mm long, stipitate; style curved. Legumes 3–4 × 0.8–1 cm, cylindrical, glabrous, black or brown at maturity, ca. 20-seeded, shortly stipitate; seeds 2–3 × 2–3 mm, seed coat orange or yellow.

Distribution and Ecology: — Crotolaria trichotoma is an African species found only in the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo in Brazil, cultivated or in disturbed vegetation.

Selected material examined: — BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Juiz de Fora , November 1969, Krieger 7922 ( IAC). Paraíba:Areia, 30 October 1944, Vasconcellos 341 ( RB). Rio de Janeiro: Itaguaí, 06 May 1982, Döbereiner & Tokarnia 1692 ( UB). Rio Grande do Sul: Pelotas, 23 January 1955, Sacco 343 (F, PACA, HBR, PEL). São Paulo: Campinas, March 2001, Flores & Rodrigues 593 ( UEC) ; Piracicaba , 08 April 2001, Flores & Schütz - Rodrigues 505 ( UEC) .