Crotalaria grandiflora Bentham (1839:429)

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 : 38

9. Crotalaria grandiflora Bentham (1839:429) . ( Figs. 2c , 6c ).

Type:— BRAZIL. Goiás. Near Cercado, undated, J.B.E. Pohl 1124 (holotype: W0052805 digital image!).

Subshrub or shrub 1–2.5 m high; branches pubescent, not ribbed; internodal stem wings absent. Leaves simple, blades elliptic or widely elliptic, ovate, rarely linear, (1.4–)4–13 × 1–3.4 cm, puberulous or glabrescent above and puberulous beneath; stipules commonly absent or linear- lanceolate to triangular- acuminate, 3–7 mm long. Inflorescence a cyme- like or racem, 5–12 cm long, axillary or opposite to a leaf; peduncles 1.5–3 cm long. Flowers 3–7, pedicels 7–11 mm long; bracts 5–6 × 1–2 mm, linear- lanceolate, persistent; bracteoles 5–6 × 1–2 mm, linear- lanceolate, persistent; calyx 16–25 mm long, deeply divided into 2 lips, pubescent; corolla yellow; the standard petal 1.6–1.8 × 1–1.4 cm; wing petals 1.3–1.8 cm long; keel petals 1.5–1.8 cm long, twisted, ovary 5–6 mm long, sessile; style geniculate. Legumes 3–4.5 × 0.8–01.5 cm, oblong- clavate or cylindrical, glabrous, black at maturity, ca. 30-seeded; seeds 3 × 3 mm, seed coat brown.

Distribution and Ecology: — Crotalaria grandiflora occurs in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District, in gallery forest edges in cerrado vegetation.

Selected specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Federal District: Brasília, Reserva Ecológica do IBGE, 16 February 1978, Heringer et al. 342 (IBGE). Goiás: Alto Paraíso de Goiás, a São João da Aliança, 12 February 2002, Flores et al. 883 (UEC).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Habit of (a) Crotalaria goiasensis Windler & S.G. Skinner (Flores & Rodrigues 998, UEC), (b) Crotalaria goreensis Guill. & Perr. (Flores & Rodrigues 1075, UEC), (c) Crotalaria grandiflora Benth. (Flores et al. 841, UEC), (d) Crotalaria harleyi Windler & S.G. Skinner (Flores et al. 784, UEC). Scale bar: 5 cm.

FIGURE 6. Habit of (a) Crotalaria breviflora DC., (b) Crotalaria flavicoma Benth., (c) Crotalaria grandiflora Benth., (d) Crotalaria harleyi Windler & S.G. Skinner, (e) Crotalaria holosericea Nees & Mart. (f) Crotalaria laeta Mart. ex Benth. Photos by A.S. Flores.