Crotalaria tweediana Bentham (1843:482)

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 : 54

36. Crotalaria tweediana Bentham (1843:482) . ( Fig. 8d ).

Type:— BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: “Ad Porto Alegre, J. Tweedie 330 (holotype: K 000500554 digital image!).

Herb or subshrub up to 0.5 m high; branches densely pilose, ribbed; internodal stem wings absent. Leaves simple, blades elliptic- lanceolate, obovate or oblong- elliptic, 1.5 –5 × 0.5–2.5 cm, pilose or pubescent above and beneath; stipules absent or rare present at the base of the branches, 1–2cm long, filiform. Inflorescence a raceme, 8–25 cm long, terminal or subterminal; peduncles 4.5–12 cm long. Flowers 6–20, pedicels 4–10 mm long; bracts 4–10 × 1–2 mm, linear or linear- lanceolate, persistent; bracteoles 3–7 × 1–2 mm, linear or linear- lanceolate, persistent; calyx 10–20 mm long, deeply divided into 2 lips, pilose; corolla yellow; the standard petal 1.2–1.7 × 1–2 cm; wing petals 1–1.5 cm long; keel petals 1.2–1.7 cm long, twisted; ovary 5–6 mm long, sessile; style geniculate. Legumes 3–4.5 × 0.8–1.2 cm, oblong- clavate or obovate, glabrous, black at the maturity, ca 25-seeded; seeds 3 × 3 mm, seed coat brown.

Distribution and Ecology: —In Brazil, Crotalaria tweediana is found in rocky soils and on mountain tops. It is restricted to Southern Brazil, its distribution extending southward into Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay ( Izaguirre 1999).

Selected specimens studied: — BRAZIL. Paraná: Palmeiras, February 1955, Frank s.nº (PACA 56902). Rio Grande do Sul: Caçapava do Sul, 28 November 1998, Flores 256 (ICN). Santa Catarina: São Joaquim, Passo das Contas, 29 January 1950, Reitz 4990b (PACA).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Habit of (a) Crotalaria paulina Schrank, (b) Crotalaria rufipila Benth., (c) Crotalaria subdecurrens Mart. ex Benth., (d) Crotalaria tweediana Benth., (e) Crotalaria unifoliolata Benth., (f) Crotalaria vitellina Ker-Gawler. Photos by A.S. Flores.