Bauhinia longifolia ( Bongard 1838: 122 ) Steudel (1840: 191)

Amorim, Daniele Dos Santos De & Pessoa, Edlley, 2025, Bauhinia s. s. (Fabaceae-Cercidoideae) from Baixada Cuiabana, Mato Grosso, Brazil: a neglected center of diversity for the genus, Phytotaxa 681 (2), pp. 146-166 : 156-157

8. Bauhinia longifolia ( Bongard 1838: 122) Steudel (1840: 191) ( Figure 2A , 3F )

= Pauletia longifolia Bongard (1838: 122)

Type:— Brazil. Mato Grosso: Cuiabá [“habitat in humidiusculis Cuyabá”], March 1827, Riedel 875 (lectotype designated here: LE00002272 photograph!; isolectotype: BM000799014 photograph!)

Treelets or shrubs, 2.0–8.0 m tall. Branches unarmed, extrafloral nectaries present. Stipules caducous, not observed. Leaves unifoliolate, petiole 2.2–6.0 × 0.1–0.2 cm; leaf blade 6.8–23.5 × 6.8–23.7 cm, bilobed, base subcordate to cordate, obtuse, or truncate, apex of the lobes acute or obtuse, leaflets ovate to elliptic. Inflorescence terminal, peduncle 0.3–4.0 cm long; rachis 4.0– 25 cm long, floral bracts lanceolate to ovate, 0.2–0.8 cm long. Flowers 4–32 per inflorescence; pedicel 1.8–3.8 cm long; developed floral bud 3.5–7,7 cm long, striate, clavate to subclavate; hypanthium 0.8–2.5 cm long, internally glabrous; sepals 2.8–6.3 cm long; petals 2.2–4.7 × 0.1–0.2 cm, clawed, linear, apex acuminate; fertile stamens 10, homomorphic, filaments 1.2–4.8 cm long; gynoecium, stipe 1.5–4.1 cm long, ovary 0.8–1.7 cm long, tomentose, style 1.3–2.5 cm long, stigma clavate. Fruits 11.5–15.3 × 1.4–1.5 cm.

Selected examined material: — Brazil. Mato Grosso: Acorizal , rodovia MT 010 , 15°1’51”S, 56°21’44”W, 20 April 2005, (bd., fl.), L. P. de Queiroz 10500 et al. ( HUEFS) ; Angical–Rosário Oeste , 15 July 2002, (fr.), R. G. Moraes 126 ( UFMT) ; BR 364 , Cuiabá–Rosário Oeste , ca. do km 60, 21 April 1983, (bd., fr.), C. N. da Cunha 940 et al. ( MG, UFMT) ; BR 364 , estrada nova, logo na entrada de Nobres , 22 April 1983, (bd., fl.), C. N. da Cunha 1019 et al. ( UFMT) ; Chapada dos Guimarães, Fazenda 20 de Dezembro, 26 June 1984, (fl., fr.), J. R. B. Monteiro 34 et al. ( EAC, UFMT, SPF) ; Chapada dos Guimarães, São Vicente, Cachoeirinha , 22 March 1983, (bd.), L. Carreira 615 et al. ( NY) ; Chapada dos Guimarães, trilha histórica do matão, 8 June 2019, (bd.), M. Ribeiro 23 et al. ( UFMT) ; Cuiabá, campus da UFMT, entre os prédios do Instituto de Biociências e Medicina , 15°36’30.90”S, 56°3’41.90”W, 22 April 2023, (bd., fl.), D. S. Amorim 219 ( UFMT) ; Cuiabá, Parque Mãe Bonifácia , 27 March 2023, (bd.), T. S. Coutinho 648 & T. Ribeiro ( UFMT) ; Nobres, estrada Velha Nobres–Rosário Oeste , 23 May 1997, (bd., fl.), V. C. Souza 17006 et al. ( ESA, HUEFS, MBM, RB) ; Nova Brasilândia, ca. de 2 km de Riolândia (Frieira) em direção a Marzagão , beira do Rio dos Cavalos, 7 October 1997, (fr.), V. C. Souza 20090 et al. ( ESA, UFMT) ; Rosário Oeste, Sesc Serra Azul, antiga fazenda Santo Antônio , 14°28’40”S, 53°41’38”W, 26 May 2015, (bd., fl., fr.), G. Martinelli 18500 et al. ( CEN, HUEFS, NY, RB) ; Rosário Oeste, fazenda do Sr. Milton Leão , 14°28’25”S, 55°40’50”W, 27 May 2015, (fr.), G. Martinelli 18526 et al. ( CEN, NY, RB) ; Rosário Oeste, Fazenda Nossa Senhora da Conceição , 15°00’09.9”S, 56°18’63.4”W, 22 March 2008, (bd.), R. R. Silva 1747 et al. ( UFMT) ; Ibidem , 11 July 2011, (bd., fl., fr.), A. L. Prado 9092 et al. ( UFMT) ; Santo Antônio de Leverger, Fazenda Miranda , 12 May 2010, (bd., fl.), I. C. Lucena 112 et al. ( UFMT) ; Santo Antônio do Leverger, Fazenda Serrinha , 15 May 1995, (bd., fl.), A. A. Oliveira 2560 & N. Roque ( SPF) ; Várzea Grande, Comunidade São Miguel, zona rural, próximo a Sadia I e II, 23 July 2014, (bd., fr.), J. S. S. Mamede 66 ( UFMT) ;

Distribution: This species occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru ( POWO 2023). In Brazil, it is distributed in the North (PA and RO), Northeast (BA), Central-West (DF, GO, MT and MS) and Southeast (ES, MG, RJ and SP) regions ( Vaz & Santos 2023). It is found in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest domains ( Vaz & Santos 2023), and in the study area it is recorded in seasonally dry forests, alluvial forests, Cerrado stricto sensus, Cerradão, ciliary forest, dry forests in calcareous outcrops, sandstone outcrops and disturbed areas.

Taxonomic comments: The species belongs to Bauhinia sect. Pauletia ser. Cansenia . Bauhinia longifolia differs from B. ungulata by the adaxially pilose primary vein, abaxially prominent primary and secondary veins and hirsute or pubescent indumentum (the latter non-ferruginous, in contrast with B. ungulata ). It also has internally and externally glabrous staminal column, while B. ungulata shows tufts of trichomes internally, in the base of the filaments, and is externally pilose, with ferruginous indumentum. The petals of B. longifolia are linear with acuminate apex, while the main difference from B. cupulata is the glabrous hypanthium. According to Vaz & Tozzi (2003a), B. longifolia is part of the B. longifolia complex, which contains five species, including B. holophylla . Some of the shared characteristics are the linear to lanceolate petals, linear petals with acuminate apex, costate or striate floral bud, glabrous hypanthium and staminal column tube.

Bongard (1838) described Pauletia longifolia based on a specimen from Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The original description does not mention where the type specimens would be deposited, Vaz (2003a) cites a specimen corresponding to Riedel s.n. at LE.According to Stafleu & Cowan (1983), most of Riedel’s collection is at LE. We found one specimen at that herbarium, LE00002272, belonging to Riedel 875 from 1827, with a duplicate at BM, besides the specimens G00388867, SI001909 and C 10011898, all annotated as Riedel s/n from 1827; the designation of a nomenclatural type is thus needed. When visiting LE in 1985, Fortunato incorrectly annotated the specimen LE00002272 as holotype. We concluded that this specimen represents the taxon well, and is here designated as lectotype, as it shows most leaf characters, part of the inflorescence with geminate pedicels, developed floral buds and hypanthium, besides being from a locality similar to that described by Bongard (1838).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Examples of Bauhinia species found in Baixada Cuiabana. A: Bauhinia longifolia (Bong.) Steud. (D.S. Amorim 219); B and C: Bauhinia malmeana Vaz & Lewis (D.S. Amorim 210 et al.); D: Bauhinia mollis (Bong.) Steud. (D.S. Amorim 211); E: Bauhinia pentandra (Bong.) Dietr. (D.S. Amorim 218); F and G: Bauhinia ungulata L. (D.S. Amorim 204 et al.); H and I: Bauhinia vespertilio S.Moore (D.S. Amorim 214 & A. Melo). Image credits: D.S. Amorim and E. Pessoa.

FIGURE 3. Leaf morphology of species found in Baixada Cuiabana. A: Bauhinia brevipes Vogel (M. Macedo s.n. et al.); B: Bauhinia caloneura Malme (V.C. Souza 20022 et al.); C: Bauhinia cheilantha (Bong.) Steud. (F.F. Xavier s.n.); D: Bauhinia cupulata Benth. (M. Macedo 4643 & J. Urbano); E: Bauhinia curvula Benth.(R.R. Silva s.n. & C. Spiller); F: Bauhinia longifolia (Bong.) Steud.(D.S. Amorim 219).