1953] 



REVISION OF MACROLOBIUM 



313 



28. Macrolobium latifolium Vogel, Linnaea 1: 414. 1837. 



Vouapa latifolia (Vog.) Taub. Bot. Centralbl. 47: 393. 1891. 

 Vuapa latifolia (Vog.) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 1: 213. 1891. 



Shrub 3 m. tall, the branchlets and leaves glabrous or infrequently the branch- 

 lets very minutely puberulous. Petioles 3*13 mm. long, sulcate to canaliculate. 

 Leaflets 5-15 cm. long, 2.5-7 cm. wide, inequilateral, arcuate to subfalcate, el- 

 liptic, the base inequilateral, acute, the apex acute, sometimes inequilaterally 

 so, the extremity obtuse, entire or emarginate, punctate or epunctate beneath; 

 costa impressed on the upper surface, salient beneath, the venules prominent. In- 

 florescences 4.5-14 cm. long, the axis densely puberulous, the hairs short and 

 clavate, the peduncle 3"10 mm. long; bracts 3.5-5 mm. long, 2.5-4.5 mm. wide, 

 triangular-ovate, acute, concave, thick-coriaceous, pilosulose on the inner sur- 

 face, densely puberulous externally; pedicels 1-5 mm. long; bracteoles 6-8.5 mm. 

 long, 3-5.5 mm. wide, very thick-spongiose, slightly apiculate, concave, glabrous 

 within, puberulous externally. Hypanthium 2-3 mm. long on a stipe 2-3.5 mm. 

 long, both densely clavate-puberulous. Sepals four, 5.5-8 mm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, 

 oblong, elliptic or lanceolate, coriaceous, glabrous within, densely puberulous 

 externally, cilioiate. Petal blade 5-8 mm. long, 5-7 mm. wide, orbicular, the claw 

 non-auriculate, 3-5 mm. long, pilosulose at the base externally, cilioiate basally, 

 villose within on the claw and up through the center of the blade. Filaments 14- 

 15 mm. long, villosulose in the basal part. Stigma simple or slightly enlarged. 

 Style 10-13 mm. long, minutely puberulous basally. Ovary 3-4.5 mm. long, 1.5-2 

 mm. wide, oblong, densely clavate-puberulous on all surfaces, 2-3"Ovulate; gyno- 

 phore 3-4.5 mm. long, clavate-puberulous, inserted at any level from midway to 

 the apex of the adaxial hypanthiai wall. Fruit (submature) 12.5-13 cm. long, 5.5-6 

 cm. wide, oblong or oblanceolate, the adaxial margins subalate to alate, densely 

 golden-clavate-puberulous, the carpophores 10-12 mm. long, clavate-puberulous. 



LECTOTYPE: F. Sellow s.n., "inter Victoria et Bahia" (fide the original de- 

 scription), Bahia, Brazil (deposited K). The selection of a lectotype is necessary 

 because the holotype was destroyed by fire at the Berlin Herbarium during the 

 last war. The specimen selected was considered to be a duplicate of the original 

 type collection. 



Additional Specimens: BRAZIL: Bahia, 1832, Blanchet 88 (P), 1039. 1995 (BM, G); 

 Ilheos, prov. Bahia, 1832, Blanchet 2362 (G, NY, P); Bahia, Sept. 1839, Blanchet 3087a 

 (G), 3088a (G, W); Bahia, Bondar 2165 (F); Bahia, Bondar s.n. (F); Ilheos, 1839, Martius 

 429 (F, G, GH, MO, NY, P, W); ad ripam Itahype, Aug. 1822, Riedel 620 (A, NY, US); Ba- 

 hia, 1830, Salzman s.n. (G, MO, P). Minas Geraes: 1840, Claussen 736 (G). Without lo- 

 cality, Glocker 530 (BM). 



This very interesting species is known only from the isolated rain forest be- 

 tween Bahia and Ilheos in southern coastal Brazil. Besides its restricted range, 

 it is easily recognizable from any of its near-relatives (M. hifolium 1 M. angusti- 

 folium, and M. duckeanum) by the thick-coriaceous or spongiose nature of the 

 bracts, bracteoles, and sepals. Its pubescence is unique, for magnification re- 

 veals that each tiny hair is actually clavate in shape. Such pubescence clothes 

 the inflorescence, the flower parts, and even the mature fruit. 



During the preliminary phases of this study, one subspecific taxon was recog- 

 nized, but the inadequacy of good material to confirm the existence of the few dif- 

 ferences has prevented its description. The segregate group, as far as it is possi- 

 ble to determine from the available materials, differs in having punctate leaflets 

 which are usually inequilaterally emarginate at the apex. The following collec- 

 tions exhibit these characters: Blanchet 1039, 1995, Glocker 530, and Salzman 

 s.n. 



