Bauhinia malmeana Vaz & Lewis (2015: 266)

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 : 157

9. Bauhinia malmeana Vaz & Lewis (2015: 266) ( Figure 2B, 2C , 4A )

Type:— Brazil. Mato Grosso: Santa Anna da Chapada, (= Chapada dos Guimarães), 13 August 1902, G. O. A. Malme 2364b (holotype: S /5-32695, photograph!)

Shrubs, 0.50–1.0 m tall. Branches unarmed, extrafloral nectaries present. Stipules persistent, lanceolate. Leaves unifoliolate, petiole 1.3–2.5 × 0.2–0.4 cm; leaf blade 7.8–17.6 × 8.8–18.2 cm, entire, base cordate, apex retuse to emarginate, leaflets suborbicular or elliptic. Inflorescence terminal, peduncle 1.5–4.0 cm long; rachis 2.0– 15.5 cm long, floral bracts lanceolate, 0.6 cm long. Flowers 4–10 per inflorescence; pedicel 1.0–2.0 cm long; developed floral bud 4.4–8.5 cm long, winged at the apex, tubular; hypanthium 1.1–1.5 cm long, internally glabrous; sepals 5.2–7.0 cm long; petals ca. 3.2 × 0.2 cm, clawed, linear, apex acuminate; fertile stamens 10, heteromorphic, filaments 3.0– 4.5 cm long; gynoecium, stipe 2.0– 3.7 cm long, ovary 1.0– 1.4 cm long, tomentose, style 1.5 cm long, stigma clavate. Fruits ca. 15.5 × 2.2 cm.

Examined material: — Brazil. Mato Grosso: Chapada dos Guimarães, antropizado, exploração madeireira, 15°28’62”S, 55°43’61”W, 18 February 1997, (fr.), A. G. Nave 1027 et al. ( ESA, UFMT) ; Chapada dos Guimarães, 15°28’12.2”S, 55°48’14.8”W, 01 December 2022, (bd., fl.) D. S. Amorim 210 et al. ( UFMT) ; Chapada dos Guimarães, Capão Seco, 15 November 1975, (bd., fl., fr.) G. Hatschbach 37583 ( MBM, NY) .

Distribution: This species is endemic to Brazil, occurring only in the region of Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Guimarães in the state of Mato Grosso ( Vaz & Santos 2023). It occurs exclusively in Cerrado stricto sensus vegetation ( Vaz & Santos 2023), but in the study area it is also found in disturbed areas, such as pastures with the invasive Brachiaria grass and logging areas.

Taxonomic comments: It belongs to Bauhinia sect. Pauletia ser. Cansenia . Bauhinia malmeana differs from B. holophylla by presenting suborbicular, entire leaflets, with retuse to emarginate apex, hirsute, yellowish indumentum in the abaxial side, especially over the primary veins, tubular floral bud with winged apex and lanceolate floral bracts. It should be noted that this species shares with B. holophylla the same type of petal (linear with acuminate apex), internally and externally glabrous hypanthium and staminal tube. However, there is little information about the relationship between B. malmeana and B. holophylla or about its relationship to the B. longifolia complex ( Vaz & Lewis 2015).

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 4. Leaf morphology of species found in Baixada Cuiabana. A: Bauhinia malmeana Vaz & Lewis (D.S. Amorim 210); B: Bauhinia marginata (Bong.) Steud.; C: Bauhinia mollis (Bong.) Dietr.(A. Melo 1899 & A.K. Koch); D: Bauhinia pentandra (Bong.) Dietr. (G.A. Lima Jr. 509 & M. Ferreira da Silva); E: Bauhinia platypetala Burch. ex Benth. (G.A. Lima Jr. 648 et al.); F: Bauhinia pulchella Benth. (B. Wilke 5 et al.); G: Bauhinia ungulata L. (D.S. Amorim 205 et al.); H: Bauhinia vespertilio S.Moore (D.S. Amorim 214).