15. Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Velloso 1827: t 25) Morong (1893: 102) . (Fig. 4i)

Trees, branches glabrescent, inermous. Nectary petiolar, sessile. Stipules caducous. Leaves bipinnate, paripinnate, 8– 12–foliolate, leaflets opposite, oblong, venation actinodromous,translucid punctuation absent. Inflorescence glomerule, axillary. Flowers sessile, actinomorphic, diplostemonous; calyx gamosepalous, sepals 5, corolla gamopetalous, tubular, whitish, petals 5; androecium monadelphous, homodinamous, anthers longitudinal; ovary superior, sessile, pauciovulate. Fruit samara, sessile, linear, plane, margin straight, epicarp glabrous, black. Seeds oblong, plane, coat brown, hilum basal.

Examined material:— BRAZIL. Paraíba: Maturéia, Pico do Jabre, 800 m elev., 02 December 2019, fl. & fr., Aureliana Gomes 509 (JPB) .

Distribution and ecology: —It is distributed in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil, where it has records in the Central-West, South and Southeast regions and, mainly, in the Northeast region (BA, CE, PB, PE, PI and RN) in the phytogeographies domains of the Caatinga, Cerrado and Atlantic Rainforest. It is an atypical species in the Caatinga, being most commonly found in the Atlantic Rainforest (Escobar 2017; Queiroz 2009).

Phenology:— Registered with flowers and fruits in December.

Taxonomic discussion:— Enterolobium contortisiliquum can be recognized, mainly, by the arboreous habit, inermous branches, glomerular inflorescence, white flowers, monadelphous androecium and samara fruits. This species is very peculiar because it has very thick, striate, gray trunks and an open canopy with diffuse branches.