Chamaecrista veadeirana ( Irwin & Barneby 1978: 150 ) Mendes & Silva In Mendes et al. (2020: 179)

Mendes, Thainara Policarpo, Souza, Alessandro Oliveira De & Silva, Marcos José Da, 2021, Taxonomic review of Chamaecrista sect. Absus subsect. Absus ser. Paniculatae (Benth.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae), Phytotaxa 495 (1), pp. 1-64 : 61

13. Chamaecrista veadeirana ( Irwin & Barneby 1978: 150) Mendes & Silva In Mendes et al. (2020: 179) ≡ Cassia rigidifolia var. veadeirana Irwin & Barneby (1978: 150) ≡ Chamaecrista rigidifolia var. veadeirana Irwin & Barneby (1978: 150) Irwin & Barneby (1982: 655) . Type: — BRAZIL. Goiás: occasional in cerrado, Chapada dos Veadeiros 2 km from Veadeiros (now Alto Paraíso de Goiás), 18 July 64, (fl., fr.), Prance & Silva 58208 (holotype: UB20516!; isotypes: K000555591!; M0217464!; MO2412545!; NY00003891!; U0003208!, US 00001683!). Fig. 37

Shrubs 1.6–4 m tall, erect or pendent, branched or not. Stem and branches cerous and glabrous, stem and adult branches brown, stem and young branches vinaceous. Stipules caduceus. Leaves 5.2–9.5 cm long, regularly distributed throughout the branches, ascending; pulvinus 3–7 mm long, visibly dilated, not striated; petiole 2.4–3.8 cm long; cylindrical and sulcate above; rachis 3.8–7.2 cm long, cylindrical and sulcate above; interfoliolar segments 1.5–2.8 cm long; pulvinule 1–3.5 mm long; visibly dilated; leaflets 2–4 pairs, coriaceous; blades 3.2–5.8 × 2.9–5.6 cm, oboval-elliptical or oboval, margin entire, plane, glabrous, surface abaxial and adaxial glabrous, base asymmetrically rounded or asymmetrically obtuse, apex rounded, with mucron, ligth green with purplish pigmentation, opaque; venation brochidodromous, secondary veins 8–14 pairs, yellowish greeen or yellow-vinaceous. Panicles 24–78 cm long, with 7–16 secondary axis, geminate, terminal, with flowers laxly distributed, slightly pendent, setulose, exserted from the foliage. Bracts 3–3.6 × 0.2–0.6 mm, lanceolate, apex acute, margin entire, brown, pubescent or setulose. Bracteoles 1.1–1.4 × 0.2–0.3 cm, lanceolate, apex acute, margin entire, ligth green, setulose, persistent. Buds 1.1–1.6 cm long, ovoid, green with purplish pigmentation, setulose, apex obtuse. Flowers 4.2–7 cm long; pedicel 2.2–4.2 cm long, robust, cylindrical; sepals 1.6–1.8 × 0.6–1.7 cm, oval-lanceolate, apex acute, yellow with purplish pigmentation; setulose; petals 2.4–3.5 × 0.9–3 cm, obovate, with the adaxial petal like a standard, one of the inner petals coiled in the androecium; stamens 6–9 mm long, filaments 1 mm long; anthers 5–8 mm, not mucronulate at apex. Ovary 5–8 × 1–1.1 mm, glabrous; styles 1.7–1.8 cm long, glabrous. Legume unknown. Seeds unknown.

Representative specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Goiás: Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Parque Nacional Chapada dos Veadeiros, rio Preto , 19 May 1990, (fl.), G . Hatschbach , M . Hatschbach & J . M . Silva 54756 ( MBM, NY); ib., ao lado da Saneago 14°08’24.7”S, 47°31’16.6”W, 650 m, 06 September 2013 (fr.), A . O . Souza et al 673 ( UFG); Morro a direita da recepção da Reserva Ecológica dos Cristais, 14°5’5.7’’S, 47°29’51’’W, 1280 m, 06 September 2014, (fr.), A . O . Souza et al 1296 ( UFG); PNVC , sopé do Morro do Japonês , 14°01’36’’S, 47°31’53’’W, 513 m, 24 June 2016, (fl.), T . P . Mendes et. al. 215 ( UFG), 216 ( UFG), 217 ( UFG), 218 ( UFG), 219 ( UFG), 220 ( UFG), 221 ( UFG), 222 ( UFG) .

Distribution and ecology: —Endemic species of the Chapada dos Veadeiros region, around the municipality of Alto Paraíso de Goiás (Fig. 38). It grows on campos rupestres (Fig. 1F), on oxisol soils with rock outcrops, mainly on roadsides or hill tops, between 513–1280 meters of elevation.

Flowering and fruiting: —Collected with flowers and fruits from May to September.

Etymology: the specific epithet “ veadeirana ” refers to Chapada dos Veadeiros, where the typus collection of the species was collected.

Conservation status: —Even growing in conservation units like the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Chamaecrista veadeirana is being considered as “Endagered” (EN, criterion B1, subcriteria b i, ii, v) because it covers an area of 873 km 2, with small populations (less than 30 individuals) and also because most of the individuals of this species grow up in disturbed environments such as roadsides, cerrados típicos and still close to homes.

Morphological relationships and characterization: — Chamacerista veadeirana is morphologically similar to Ch. rigidifolia and Ch. claussenii by the shrubby habit, branches and axis of waxy inflorescence and leaves regularly distributed throughout the plant with 2–4 pairs of leaflets. However, it differs from both by the strongly vinaceous stem (vs. green or brown in Ch. rigidifolia and Ch. claussenii ), elliptical-oboval or oboval (vs. oval or elliptical) leaflets, lanceolate sepals (vs. oval-lanceolate), inflorescences, buds, pedicel, external surface of bracts, bracteoles and sepals, ovary and setulose fruits (vs. not setulose), flowers with dark yellow petals (vs. light yellow). In addition to the morphological differences, Ch. veadeirana has a restricted distribution to the Chapada dos Veadeiros region, in Goiás, while Ch. rigidifolia occurs in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais and Bolivia. It is easily recognized by its erect shrub of 1.6–4 m tall, stems and branches conspicuously vinaceous or purplish when young, leaves with 2–4 pairs of leaflets 3.2–5.8 × 2.9–5.6 cm, elliptical-oboval or oboval with vinaceous margin.