Chamaecrista plumosa var. erecta, (Schorn & Gordon-Gray) Lock

Musandiwa, Liada, Magee, Anthony R. & Boatwright, James S., 2022, A Taxonomic Revision of Chamaecrista (Caesalpinioideae, Cassieae, Cassiinae) in Southern Africa, Systematic Botany (Basel, Switzerland) 47 (4), pp. 992-1011 : 1008-1009

10b. CHAMAECRISTA PLUMOSA var. ERECTA (Schorn & Gordon-Gray) Lock, Kew Bull. 43 (2): 337 (1988).

Cassia plumosa var. erecta Schorn & Gordon-Gray in J. S. Afr. 41: 153 (1975); Gordon-Gray in F.S.A. 16 (2): 104 (1977).

TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA. KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg (2930), ‘ Camperdown, Inchanga’ , (–DC), 9 March 1972, Schorn 36 (holotype: NU!).

Perennial herbs to 1.8 m tall. Stems erect, often single stemmed or with few stems, simple or sub-simple, branching on the upper half, glabrous or covered with short, and/or long, straight greyish or yellow hairs. Leaves 15 – 90 × 2–10 mm.

Diagnostic Characters — Chamaecrista plumosa var. erecta is distinguished from C. plumosa var. plumosa by its erect stems up to 1.8 m tall, branching in the upper half, with stems densely covered with short and/or long straight greyish or yellowish hairs and long leaves, up to 90 mm long.

Distribution and Ecology — Chamaecrista plumosa var. erecta is common in Louwsburg through Pietermaritzburg to Port Edward in KwaZulu-Natal. It occurs in grasslands at an altitude below 800 m ( Fig. 15 ). Flowering from September to March.

Additional Specimens Examined — South Africa. — KWAZULU-NATAL: 2731 (Louwsburg): Tygerskloof Estate, Ngome area (–AD), 9 Feb 2001, Potgieter 425 ( NU) ; Ngotshe, Ngome Forest (–CD), 11 Feb 1962, Tinley 743 ( NU) . 2831 (Nkandla): near Dhlinza Forest, Eshowe (–DA), 21 Jan 1963, Edwards 2870 ( NU) . 2832 (Mtubatuba): Hlabisa, Monzi Settlement (–AD), 7 Apr 1966, Strey 6568 ( PRE) . 2930 (Pietermaritzburg): Laager Farm, near Harburgh (–BD), 10 Dec 2005, Majola & Marimuthoo 2986 ( NH) ; Maidstone, N coast (–CA), 14 Feb 1944, Hilliard 12 ( NU, 2 Sheets) ; 4 km from Pietermaritzburg on the Greytown road (–CB), 10 Dec 1988, Edwards ( PRE) ; Richmond, Tala Farm (–CD), 8 Mar 1966, Moll 3073 ( PRE) ; Cato Ridge, inland of Durban (–DA), 2 Feb 2013, Styles 3960 ( NH) ; Camperdown, Inchanga (–DC), 23 Feb 1966, Hilliard 3883 ( NU) ; Camperdown Inchanga (–DC), 23 Feb 1964, Hilliard 2722 ( NU) ; Pietermaritzburg (–DC), 16 Feb 1969, Strey 8367 ( PRE) ; Greater Durban area, Queensburgh (–DD), 24 Feb 1993, Ward 12248 ( NH) . 3030 (Port Shepstone): Richmond road (–AB), 18 Dec 1947, Barker 5141 ( NBG) ; S Coast, Paddock Altenburg (–CD), 26 Jan 1997, Von Fintel 406 ( NH) ; Port Shepstone, Margate (–CD), 12 Feb 1973, Strey 11065 ( NU) . 3130 (Port Edward): Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, Beacon Hill (–AA), 19 Mar 2018, Musandiwa 18 ( NBG) ; Beacon Hill (–AA), 8 Feb 1980, Nicholson 2057 ( PRE) .

Figures

FIG. 15. Known distribution of Chamaecrista plumosa var. plumosa (O) and C. plumosa var. erecta (-) in southern Africa.