Trischidium molle (Benth.) H.E.Ireland

Ireland, H. (2007). Taxonomic Changes in the South American Genus Bocoa (Leguminosae-Swartzieae): Reinstatement of the Name Trischidium, and a Synopsis of Both Genera. Kew Bulletin, 62(2), 333-349. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20443359

Type

Brazil, Bahia, Utinga, Fazenda in Certao de San Francisco, J. S. Blanchet 2774 (lectotype K! (chosen by Cowan 1974); isolectotypes BM!, F [fragment]!, G!, K!., OXF!, P). Type species.

Morphology General Habit

Slender shrub or small tree, 1 - 3 m tall, flowering with juvenile leaves

Morphology Stem

Young branchlets densely tomentulose; older branchlets sparsely so

Morphology Leaves

Leaf rachis 25 - 90 mm long, densely tomentulose, not channelled above; petiole 5 - 17 mm long; leaflets 5 - 9, coriaceous, elliptic to ovate, acuminate, tapered or acute apically, tomentulose to densely so with scattered hairs on the midvein above, densely tomentose beneath; terminal leaflet largest, 20 - 60 mm long, 12 - 29 mm wide, the lateral ones 5 - 43 mm long, 5 - 26 mm wide, veins not raised above, costa raised and lateral veins not raised beneath; petiolule 0.5 - 2 mm long, 1 mm wide, densely tomentulose

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences single, ramiflorous, occasionally in the leaf axils, 2 - 17 mm long, the axis densely tomentulose; floral bract c. 1 mm long, deltoid, caducous in fruit; pedicel 4 -13 mm long, densely tomentulose

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flower fragrant; calyx splitting to about half way along, into 3 or 4 segments, usually loosely recurved, densely ptLibescent externally, glabrous internally, caducous in fruit; petal white, blade 4 - 8 mm long, 5 - 9 mm wide, claw 2 - 5 mm long; stamens 15 - 22, anthers c. 3 - 3.5 mm long; filaments 3 - 3.5 mm long, white, ovary and immature fruit green, glabrous, the style 4 - 4.5 mm long, persistent in fruit

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit body 10 - 18 mm long excluding remnants of the style, 8 - 12 mm wide, 6 8 mm broad, glabrous, stipe 1 - 2 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed ellipsoid, red drying to brown or black, 5.5 - 8 mm long, 4 - 5.5 mm wide, 4 - 5.5 mm deep.

Distribution

Brazil (Bahia, Ceará, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco).

Ecology

Cerrado; Caatinga; on sandy soil; 300 - 800 m altitude.

Vernacular

Brinquinho (Brazil; Bahia).

Phenology

Flowering time: Sept. to May.

Note

Trischidium molle is a floriferous, slender shrub or small tree that is locally abundant. Specimens are easy to identify, because the leaflets dry a pale or mustard yellowish-green colour and are ovate with a rounded to obtuse apex and rounded to cordate base. They are often folded inwards along the midvein, sometimes completely in half, and are usually densely tomentulose beneath. The leaflets on the type specimen are immature. Derived from the Latin 'mollis' meaning swaying, swinging, soft, graceful, and probably refers to the slender habit of the tree.