Chamaecrista plumosa, E. Mey., Comm. Pl. Afr. Austr.

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

10. CHAMAECRISTA PLUMOSA E.Mey. , Comm. Pl. Afr. Austr.: 159 (1836);

Brummitt in Fl. Zambesiaca 3(2): 138 (2007). Cassia plumosa (E.Mey.) Vogel , Syn. Gen. Cassiae 64 (1837); Ross, Fl. Natal: 195 (1973); Gordon-Gray in F.S.A. 16(2): 103 (1977).

TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA. Eastern Cape Province, ‘between Bashee [Mbashe] River and Umtata’ , without date, Drege s.n (lectotype: K, [ K000417581 ]–image!, designated here). [

Note: We could not trace any material in P and other herbaria, therefore we select the collection at K as lectotype].

Chamaecrista plumosa var. diffusa E.Mey., Comm. Pl. Afr. Austr. : 159 (1836).

Cassia plumosa var. diffusa (E.Mey) Vogel, Syn. Gen. Cassiae 65 (1837).

TYPE: SOUTH AFRICA. KwaZulu-Natal Province, Hlabisa, Hluhhuwe Game Reserve , Ward 1873 (neotype: PRE!, designated here).

Note — The original Drege collection (Cape Province [Eastern Cape] near Umzimkulu [ Omsamcula ], Drege s.n. (whereabouts unknown)) cited by Meyer could not be located as most of his collections were housed at B and largely destroyed, so we here designate a collection of Ward as neotype as it is the most complete collection with matured flowers.

Perennial herbs, to 1.8 m high. Stems single or multiple, erect or semi-erect, arising from woody rootstock, producing branches in the upper half, or prostrate and branched to form spreading mat, glabrous or with appressed curved or straight hairs, often reddish to purplish one side. Leaves paripinnate, 10–90 × 1–10 mm, slightly tapering distally; stipules triangular, 0.4–0.9 mm long, base oblique, apex acuminate, glabrous or pubescent; extrafloral nectaries at the top of petiole, sessile, circular, ovate or elliptic, 0.2–0.8 mm long, rachis crenatecrested. Leaflets 13–38-jugate, base oblique, apex acuminate, glabrous or pubescent, margin with white hairs. Inflorescence axillary, 1–3 flowered; flowers 7–17 × 5–10 mm long; bract often with short hairs; base oblique, apex acuminate, margin ciliate; bracteoles 2, glabrous or shortly pubescent, or covered with long appressed hairs. Pedicels densely or sparsely covered with appressed hairs, at flowering 10–30 mm long, at fruiting ± 25. Sepals 5, ovate, 7–10 × 1–3 mm, sparsely appressed pubescent. Petals 5, obovate, 7–15 × 5–9 mm, bright yellow. Stamens 10, straight or curved, anthers in two series, 6 small 3–4 mm long, 4 large 6–7 mm long, filaments very short, 1 mm long. Ovary 5–7 mm long, densely covered with greyish hairs, style glabrous, up to 5 mm long, slightly curved. Pods 25–60 × 3–5 mm, flattened, straight or slightly curved, sparsely appressed pubescent. Seeds 3–4 × 1.5–2.0 mm, rhomboid, flattened, dark brown to light brown.

Diagnostic Characters — Chamaecrista plumosa can sometimes be confused with C. capensis with which it shares the large flowers, but is readily distinguished by the crested rachis (chanelled in C. capensis ) and sessile, circular, ovate or elliptic, extrafloral nectaries (sub-sessile or raised in small stalk in C. capensis ).

Two varieties are recognised: