Bauhinia conceptionis Britton & Killip (1936: 160)

Castellanos, Cesar & Vargas, Frank, 2022, Rediscovery of Bauhinia conceptionis (Leguminosae: Cercidoideae), a rare and endemic species of Colombian legume from Chocó - Colombia, after eighty years, Phytotaxa 550 (3), pp. 263-271 : 265-267

Bauhinia conceptionis Britton & Killip (1936: 160) . Fig 1

Type: — COLOMBIA. Chocó: La Concepción, 15 km E of Quibdó , ca. 75 m, 20–23 April 1931, Archer , W.A., 2086 (holotype NY!, isotype US!).

Description:—Tree or shrub to 9 m; branches minutely tomentulose soon becoming glabrate. Leaves with the blade chartaceous, suborbicular, usually wider than long, 8–14 × 8–15.5 cm wide, bilobed 1/9 to 1/5 their length, lobes widely rounded, one lobe slightly larger in size than the other, slightly convergent or divergent, the base cordate, the lobe apex rounded, the upper surface glabrous, the lower surface minutely tomentulose, at least on the nerves, slightly lighter in color than the upper surface, 11–13 nerved, the innermost pair of lateral nerves closer to the mid-nerve than to the adjacent lateral nerves, the petiole 3.5-4 cm long, of which 09– 1.3 cm is the pulvinus, basal pulvinulus shorter than distal one, minutely tomentulose to glabrate; stipules ovate to lanceolate, 1–2 mm long, caducous; adpetiolar intrastipular excrescence to 2 mm long, the others minute. Inflorescence terminal or subterminal and axillary, 2–4- flowered, the flowers paired on a common peduncle, the rachis tomentulose; buds linear-lanceolate, slightly curved towards the apical part in live specimens ca. 5.5 cm long, obscurely 5-nerved, the apex apiculate, 5 cuspidate, setas 1–2 mm, caducous, the peduncle 1–1.5 cm long, the pedicel 1.5–2 cm long; bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, 2–3 mm long, caducous. Hypanthium tubular, 10–13 mm long, 10-nerved; calyx at first spathaceous, soon irregularly splitting to the hypanthium into 2–5 lobes; petals white, sub- equal, linear to linear-spathulate, ca. 5 cm long, 6–7 mm wide, glabrous or glabrate (sometimes with a few trichomes on the claw), the margin slightly crisped, the claw ca. 1 cm long; fertile stamens 10, the filaments of the outer whorl ca. 5 cm long, Subequal to the petals, the inner whorl slightly shorter, irregularly connate at the base into a staminal sheath, 5 mm long, the staminal sheath tomentulose on the inner surface, the anther dithecal, longitudinally dehiscent, 6–7 × 1–1.5 mm; gynoecium ca. 5 cm long, subequaling the androecium, the ovary ca. 1.5 cm long, densely tomentose, with sparse glandular trichomes, the stipe ca. 1.5 cm long, glabrate, the style ca. 1.5 cm long, tomentose proximally, sparsely tomentulos, stigma oblique—capitate and grooved. Fruits linear, apiculate with persistent style base, ca. 13 cm long, 2.6 cm wide, light brown, glabrate. (fig. 2).

Distribution: —Known previously only from the type collection made in the municipality of Quibdó (Department of Choco). Recent collections were made in the tropical rain forest of Chocó around 5 km east of the Quibdó town with attitude between 50–70 m elev., (fig. 3), an area subject to flooding of the La Concepcion River. Flowering and fruiting in April, August, and September.

Vernacular name: —Casco-e-mula, casco-e-mulo, casco-e-vaca

Additional specimens examined: — COLOMBIA • Department of Chocó, municipality of Quibdó, bosque intervenido a las orillas del río La Concepcion. 80 m a.s.l.; 05°43′31″N, 076°35′24″W; 2 Sep. 2018; C. Castellanos 760 (BOG, CHOCO, FMB, UDBC). (fig. 4) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Bauhinia conceptionis Britton & Killip.A. Branch with foliage, bud and flowers; B. Buds; C. Flower; D. One of the petals at anthesis; E. Legume. Materials all from Castellanos 760 UDB. Drawn by O.D. Bernal-Gacharrá.