Crotalaria rosenii (Pax) Milne-Redh. ex Polhill, Kew Bull.

Fonseca-Cortés, Andrés, 2022, Misidentified For More Than 50 Years, Crotalaria Rosenii (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Crotalarieae), A Cultivated Species In Colombia And Ecuador, Phytotaxa 533 (5), pp. 287-297 : 289-292

Crotalaria rosenii (Pax) Milne-Redh. ex Polhill, Kew Bull. 22(2): 202. 1968.

Erythrina rosenii Pax, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 39: 627. 1907.

TYPE:— ETHIOPIA. Meta , 2500 m, 21 February 1905, F. Rosen s.n. (holotype: WRSL-065900!). Figs. 1–4 .

Crotalaria bieberi Cufod., Sitzungsber. Osterr. Akad. Wiss., Math. Nat. Kl., Abt. 1. 156: 480. 1947. TYPE:—AETHIOPIEN. Kaffa, without altitude, 6-7 July 1905, F.J. Bieber s.n. (holotype: WU-0122996!).

Crotalaria raffillii Milne-Redh. , Botanical Magazine 167: pl. 111. 1950. TYPE:—cultivated in temperature house at Kew, from seeds sent by Sheldon from Abyssinia, without date and collector (holotype: K-001332746!).

Shrub to 2 m tall, poorly branched, with one or two stems, bark pale beige or red with longitudinal fissures. Branches to 1.3 m long, pendule at the apex, terete, glabrous, bark exfoliating, red with circular lenticels to ca. 2 mm long. Stipules absent. Leaves trifoliate, arranged 0.6–2.4 cm apart, petiole 2.5–4.0 cm long, terete, glabrous, pulvinate in the base, 0.1–0.2 cm long, rachis reduced; pulvinules 0.3–0.5 cm long, terete glabrous, leaflets 2.0–2.6 × 1.0– 1.4 cm, elliptical, glabrous; buds with canescent sericeous indumentum; nervation eucamptodromous with 9–12 pairs of secondary nerves. Inflorescences 8–12 cm long, terminal, erect, glabrous, peduncle 2.5–4.0 cm long; bracts 1.5–2.0 × 1.0– 1.5 cm, caducous, ovate, concave, glabrous, with a strong smell, apex acute, with a black tip, with one central nerve and 3–4 pairs of basal nerves; bracteoles 1.0–1.2 × 0.2–0.3 cm, caducous, inserted in the base of the pedicel or 2–3 mm from the base, lanceolate, basal portion strongly attenuated, apex acuminate; pedicel 0.7–1.0 cm long, glabrous; flowers 4.5–5.0 cm long, reclinate; hypanthium 0.5–0.8 cm long, campanulate, glabrous; sepals three, glabrous, the lateral ones, 2.0–2.5 × 1.2–1.5 cm, triangular, the lower one, 2.2–2.5 × 0.7–0.8 cm, lanceolate; standard 5.0–5.5 × 4.0– 4.6 cm, ovate, yellow on the upper surface, yellow or yellow with the nerves dark on the lower surface; keeled on the lower surface and with 15–17 pairs of secondary nerves, arising from the base and dichotomously branched towards the apex; base with two ridge callosities, claw 0.7–1.0 × 0.3–0.4 cm, glabrous; wings 2.0–2.5 × 0.9–1.2 cm, ovate, glabrous, with 15–20 pairs of nerves arising from the base and dichotomously branched towards the apex, claw 1.0–1.5 × 0.1–0.2 cm, perpendicular to the lamina; keel 5.8–6.0 × 2.4–2.6 cm, inflated, apex hooked; with 45–50 nerves arising from the base; pale green in the base, black in the apex; dorsal margin fused in the apex, the free portion of the dorsal margin and the basal portion of the ventral margin canescent tomentose, interior with abundant nectar; claw 1.1–1.5 × 0.2–0.3 cm, perpendicular to the lamina, tomentose in the basal portion; stamens ten, monadelphous, sheath 1.5–2.0 cm long, filaments, 1.2–1.8 cm long, anthers dimorphic, five linear, 0.4–0.5 × to 0.1 cm, and five ovoid, 0.4–0.5 × 0.1–0.2 cm, with longitudinal dehiscence, usually covered with nectar; ovary 0.6–0.7 cm, ovoid, glabrous, with 12–15 ovules, stipe 0.5–0.6 cm long, base with a nectariferous chamber. Legume 5.2–7.6 cm long × 1.3–1.5 cm wide × 1.0– 1.2 cm height, glabrous, elastically dehiscent, with 20–30 pairs of nerves, branched towards the apex, base attenuated, apex with a small hook to 2 mm long, stipe 0.8–1.0 cm long. Seeds 0.4–0.6 × 0.4–0.6 × 0.2–0.3 cm, reniform, slightly compressed, brown.

Etymology: —The specific epithet commemorates Felix Rosen, a German botanist who collected this species.

Distribution and habitat: — Crotalaria rosenii is a high land shrub, endemic of the mountains of Ethiopia, between 1350–2800 m.a.s.l. ( Thulin, 1983), it grows in the evergreen bushland, grassland, stream edges, and margins of forests ( Polhill, 1982; Thulin, 1983). In Colombia, this species has been cultivated between 2600–2800 m.a.s.l. in the Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments (Naturalista, 2021). In Ecuador, it has been cultivated between 2200–2800 m.a.s.l. at Quito ( Naturalista, 2021b) and Ibarra ( Naturalista, 2021c).

Bromatology: —This species has been reported as toxic to livestock ( Edwards, 1976).

Specimens examined: — COLOMBIA. Boyacá: Tunja, cultivado en predios de la U.P.T.C., 2820 m, 18 October 1971, R. Guarín M & M. Villarreal V. 1195 (MEDEL!); Cundinamarca: Sabana de Bogotá, Ciudad Universitaria, jardines del Instituto de Ciencias Naturales , cultivado, 6 January 1969, J. Cuatrecasas 27018 (COL!, US!) ; Bogotá, Parque de la embajada Británica , calle 87 con carrera 11, 1 April 1952, Hayoz s.n. (COL-000052474!); Tenjo , carretera a Subachoque , 26 March 1982, A. Hernández 22 (JBB!); cultivated at the British Embassy Bogotá , IX-1953, J. Idrobo s.n. (US-2123938!); Bogotá , cultivado en jardines, 1 December 1953, J.M. Idrobo 1531 (COL!); predios del Jardín Botánico de Bogotá , “José Celestino Mutis”, 2551 m, 11 December 1985, F. Sánchez, et al.3 (JBB!) . ECUADOR. Pichincha: Bosque Proctector Pasochoa, 30 km SE de Quito, 2850-3900 m, vegetación de Ceja Andina, área lluviosa con suelo humífero, 23 December 1989, G. Aguilar 4 (QCA!); Quito, El Giron, Wilson, 2800 m, 18 April 1982, E. Fegan 41 (QCA!); Quito , Cantón, Campus of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador , cultivated plants in garden, 2800 m, 2 September 1998, D. Neill 11459 (MO!) . ETHIOPIA. Wabi Shebelle , 16 May 1970, J.L. Guillaumet 2675 (P!) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Morphological comparission between C. agatiflora subsp. engleri and C. rosenii. (A, C, E) C. rosenii; (B, D, F) C. agatiflora subsp. engleri; (A-B) habit; (C-D) bark; (E-F) leaves. Scales: A-B, 50 cm. C-F, 2 cm. Photographs:Andrés Fonseca-Cortés.

FIGURE 2. Morphological comparission between C. agatiflora subsp. engleri and C. rosenii. (A, C, E) C. rosenii, (B, D, F) C. agatiflora subsp. engleri; (A-B) inflorescences; (C-D) bracts; (E-F) bracteoles. Scales:A, 2 cm. B, 5 cm. C-D, 1 cm. E, 5 mm. F, 1 cm. Photographs: Andrés Fonseca-Cortés.

FIGURE 3. Morphological comparission between C. agatiflora subsp. engleri and C. rosenii. (A, C, E, G) C. rosenii; (B, D, F, H) C. agatiflora; (A-B) standard; (C) claw glabrous; (D) claw tomentose; (E-F) wings; (G) keel with the apex hooked; (H) keel with the apex straight. Scales A, B, E, F, G, H: 1 cm; C, D: 5 mm. Photographs:Andrés Fonseca-Cortés.

FIGURE 4. Morphological comparission of the pods and seeds between C. agatiflora subsp. engleri and C. rosenii. (A) pods in dorsal view C. rosenii (upper) and C. agatiflora subsp. engleri (lower); (B) pods in lateral view of C. rosenii and C. agatiflora subsp. engleri; (C) pods in front view of C. rosenii and C. agatiflora subsp. engleri; (D) seeds of C. agatiflora subsp. engleri (right) and C. rosenii (left). Scales A-C, 1 cm. D, 3 mm. Photographs: Andrés Fonseca-Cortés.