Crotalaria virgulata Klotzsch subsp. grantiana (Harv.) Polhill (1982:293)

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 : 56

41. Crotalaria virgulata Klotzsch subsp. grantiana (Harv.) Polhill (1982:293) .

Basionym: Crotalaria grantiana Harv. (1862:43) .

Type:— SOUTH AFRICA. Durban, “Port Natal,” undated, W.B. Grant s.n. (holotype: K 000227120 digital image!).

Shrub or subshrub, 1 m high; branches puberulous; internodal stem wings absent. Leaves 3-foliolate, digitate, petioles 3–6 mm long; leaflets obovate or oblong- elliptic, 0.5–2 × 0.2–0.6 cm, puberulous above, glabrous beneath; stipules 1–2 mm long, linear. Inflorescence a raceme, 1.5–4 cm long, opposite to a leaf or axillary; peduncles 0.5–1.8 cm long. Flowers 1–6, pedicels 3–6 mm long; bracts 1–3 mm long, subulate, persistent; bracteoles 1 mm long, subulate, caducous; calyx 5 mm long, 5 lobes subequals, lobes larger than the tube, puberulous; corolla yellow; the standard petal 0.5 × 0.4–0.6 cm; wing petals 0.5 cm long; keel petals 0.6 cm long, twisted; ovary 2–3.5 mm long, stipitate; style geniculate. Legumes 1–1.5 × 0.5–0.7 cm, oblong or ovoid, puberulous, brown at maturity, ca. 9-seeded; seeds 2 × 2 mm, seed coat orange.

Distribution and Ecology: — Crotalaria virgulata subsp. grantiana is native to South Africa and is also found in disturbed areas and roadsides in Brazil.

Selected specimens studied: — BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: Eldorado do Sul, Centro Agronômico , 10 April 1972, Porto s.n. ( ICN 25454 , ICN 25510) ; Osório, 18 June 1998, Flores & Rodrigues 199 ( ICN). São Paulo: Campinas, 17 October 2001, Flores 679 ( UEC) .