Chamaecrista capensis, (Thunb.) E. Mey.

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 : 999

3. CHAMAECRISTA CAPENSIS (Thunb.) E.Mey. , Comm. Pl. Afr. Austr. 1: 158 (1836);

Brummitt in Fl. Zambesiaca 3(2): 131 (2007). Cassia capensis Thunb. , Prodr. Pl. Cap. 1: 79 (1794); Thunb. in Fl. Cap. ed. Schult. 388 (1823); Vogel in Syn. Gen. Cassiae 64 (1837); Steyaert in Bull. Jard. Bot. Brux. 20: 250 (1950); Gordon-Gray in F.S.A. 16(2): 98 (1977).

TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA. Eastern Cape, Stutterheim (3227), between Loerie and Sundays (Sondags) River [Kunukama River ] (–AD), Thunberg s.n. (holotype: UPS [ UPSTHUN9935 ]–image!) .

Perennial herbs, to 0.6 m high. Stems prostrate, erect to semi-erect, single or multi-stemmed, arising from a woody rootstock, often branched in the upper half, glabrescent or covered with short and/or long greyish or yellow hairs. Leaves paripinnate, 20–50 × 10–25 mm, linear or linear oblong, glabrous or with greyish hairs, slightly tapering distally; stipules, up to 14 mm, base oblique, apex acuminate, narrowly to broadly triangular, surface sub-glabrous or with short and long patent hairs; extrafloral nectaries towards the top of petioles, circular, concave, sub-sessile or attached with short stalk, sometimes lacking; rachis channelled. Leaflets (5)11–24-jugate, 2–10 × 1–3 mm, linear to linear oblong, base rounded to oblique, apex mucronate, margin with long hairs. Inflorescence axillary or supra axillary; flowers, 10–17 × 5–15 mm, (1)2–4 flowered; bract 2–4 mm long, base oblique, apex acuminate; bracteoles 2, glabrous, up to 4 mm long, towards top of pedicels. Pedicels with short curved and long patent hair, at flowering 18–40 mm, at fruiting, 18–45 mm long. Sepals 5, ovate, 6–10 × 2–4 mm, with short and long spreading hairs. Petals 5, bright yellow, 9–17 × 3–10 mm, obovate. Stamens 10, straight or slightly curved, anthers in two series, 5 small 2–4 mm long, 5 large 6–8 mm long, filaments very short, 1 mm long. Ovary up to 7 mm long, slightly curved, glabrous. Pods straight or slightly curved, (20)30–50 × 3–5 mm, flattened, with long or short greyish hairs, densely covered with long hairs when pods are young. Seeds ± 4 × 2 mm, rhomboid, flattened, brownish to blackish.

Diagnostic Characters — Chamaecrista capensis shares long pedicels with C. falcata , but is distinguished from that species by its small, circular extrafloral nectaries that are sub-sessile or attached to a short stalk ( Fig. 3B ) (long stalked in C. falcata ), linear to linear oblong leaflets (falcate in C. falcata ), multiple and narrow leaflets (fewer and wider leaflets in C. falcata ), and large flowers (10–17 × 5–15 mm in C. capensis vs. 7–9 × 8–10 mm in C. falcata ).

Two varieties are recognised:

Figures

FIG. 3. Extrafloral nectaries of Chamaecrista species. A. C. mimosoides, sessile, circular or circular-elliptic. B. C. capensis var. capensis, circular, sub-sessile or attached on small stalk. C. C. biensis, circular, concave, sub-sessile or raised on small stalk. D. C. comosa subsp. capriconia, elliptic, sessile, spreading over the petiole. E. C. comosa subsp. comosa, sessile, slightly sunken in petiole. F. C. grandiglandulata, large, sessile, elliptic, overlapping the sides of petiole. G. C. gordon-grayei subsp. longipedicellata, sub-sessile to sessile, circular. H. C. falcata, extrafloral nectaries, long stalked, concave on top. Vouchers: A. Burtt & Hilliard 3215 (NU). B. Walker 119 (PRE). C. Phelan 1120 (PRE). D. Burger 292 (PRE). E. Arnold 792 (NU). F. Ward 1219 (NH). G. De Winter and Wiss 4423 (PRE). H. Ward 2439 (PRE).Scale bars = 5 mm).