Cassiinae pt 1 NY-Botanical_gardens_Vol. 35_1 - Copy.pdf - Antbase

220 MEMOIRS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN [VOL. 35
Bviii. ser. CORIACEAE (Bentham) Irwin & Barneby
Senna sect. Chamaefistula ser. Coriaceae (Bentham) Irwin & Barneby, comb. nov.
Cassia sect. Prososperma ser. Coriaceae Bentham, Trans. Linn. Soc.
London 27: 537. 1871, ex parte, char, mut.—Sp. lectotypica: C. cori­
folia Bentham = Senna corifolia (Bentham) Irwin & Barneby.
CoroUa zygomorphic, but sepals strongly graduated; fertUe stamens 7,4 median
shorter, 3 abaxial longer (the centric one often a htrie narrower and shorter than
its neighbors), the anthers subcoriaceous, aU shorriy beaked, the beaks 2-porose,
those of median stamens divaricate, those of abaxial ones porrect but not longer;
style linear-attenuate straight 4.5-10 mm, symmetricaUy truncate; ovules 18^6;
pod linear piano-compressed, the ripe valves obscurely corrugate unappendaged;
seeds 1-seriate transverse, narrowly oblong or oblong-eUipsoid compressed par­
aUel to valves.—Shrubs, some weakly arborescent in age; stipules either dilated
herbaceous or subulate fugacious; glands between aU pairs of lfts, ovoid or pa­
telliform; racemes loosely 3-35-fld, the pedicels charged, commonly near or
above middle, rarely (S. kuhlmanii) at base, with a fusiform or claviform gland.—
Spp. 3, handsome, large-fld, 2 ofthe Brazilian Planalto in s. and e.-centr. Goias,
centr. Minas Gerais and s.-e. Bahia, 1 of Sa. do Cachimbo in s.-w. Para and in
s.-w. Rondonia.
While the epithet Coriaceae is an old one, our concept and definition of the
series are new. Bentham was acquainted with both flower and pod of 5. reniformis
and associated it with the Old World S. auriculata in an artificial group of cha-
maesennas characterized principally by the broad herbaceous stipules; but he did
not fail to notice its resemblance to some compatriot prosospermas, meaning our
ser. Laxiflorae. Cassia corifolia, known in flower only, was paired by Bentham
with the likewise imperfectly understood C gardneri to form a ser. Coriaceae
provisionally subordinated to sect. Prososperma. Now that its pod is known, S.
gardneri is recognized as belonging to the bijugate ser. Bacillares, whereas S.
corifolia has precisely the fruit of S. renif ormis, with which it agrees further in
the fohaceous stipules and the gland perched high on one edge of the flattened
pedicel. Senna renif ormis and S. corifolia are, in fact, close relatives, collectively
resembUng ser. Laxiflorae in floral morphology but different in position of the
pedicellar gland and in absence of the accessory ridge on the pod's valves. To
this firm nucleus we somewhat reluctantly add the more recently discovered S.
kuhlmannii, fuUy compatible as to flower and fruit but having the pedicellar gland
basal as in Laxiflorae, smaU caducous stipules, and discoid petiolar glands unique
in Senna. This pecuhar species could logically form a monotypic series coordinate
with Coriaceae and Laxiflorae, but its intimate affinity with the former would
then be obscured.
Key to the Species of ser. Coriaceae
1. Stipules foliaceous, many-nerved from base, amplexicaul-auriculate, persistent; petiolar
glands fusiform; racemes (6-)10-35-fld; gland near or above middle of pedicel; ovules 30-46;
widespread over highlands of Brazihan Planalto in s.-e. Bahia, Minas Gerais and Goias.
2. Lfts ovate- or obovate-acuminate to ovate- or lance-elliptic, the margin revolute; stipules
obtusely auriculate at base on side further from petiole, abruptly acuminulate-caudate
distally; centr. Minas Gerais and s.-e. Bahia. 57. S. reniformis (p. 223).
2. Lfts broadly oblong, ovate-oblong or oblong-elhptic, very obtuse or emarginate, the
margin plane; stipules truly reniform, broadly rounded at both the amplexicaul auricle
and distally; e.-centr. Goias and n.-centr. Minas Gerais. 56. S. corifolia (p. 221).
1. Stipules setiform, 1-nerved, fugacious; petiolar glands depressed-discoid; racemes 3-11-fld;
gland at base of pedicel; ovules 18-26; s.-w. Para and s.-e. Rondonia. 58. S. kuhlmanii (p. 224).