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(Last Modified On 11/15/2012)
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(Last Modified On 11/15/2012)
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Species
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ACACIA VILLOSA (SW.) Willd.
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PlaceOfPublication
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Sp. P1. 4:1067. 1806.
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Synonym
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Mimosa villosa Sw. Fl. Ind. Occ. 2:982. 1800. Acacia lophanthoides DC. Prodr. 2:457. 1825. Acacia carbonaria Schlecht. in Linnaea 12:571. 1838, fide Benth. Acacia Cumingii Benth. in Hook. Lond. Jour. Bot. 1:525. 1842, fide Benth. Acacia Valenzuelana A. Rich. Ess. Fl. Cub. 1:462. 1845. Acaciella villosa Britt. & Rose, in N. Am. Fl. 23:104. 1928. Acaciella Cumingii Britt. & Rose, loc. cit. 1928. ?Acaciella Oerstedii Britt. & Rose, loc. cit. ex char. 1928.
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Description
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Shrub up to a few m. tall, unarmed, the branchlets heavily pubescent to almost glabrous. Leaves moderately large, bipinnate, the pinnae 4-10 pairs opposite on the rachis, the leaflets 9-25 pairs per pinna; petiole mostly about 2 cm. long, pubescent, normally eglandular, sulcate above; rachis similar to the petiole, 2-8 cm. long; pinnular rachis about 4 cm. long, pubescent, usually eglandular; leaflets broadly oblong or ovate, mostly about 8 or 9 mm. long, more or less inequilaterally obtuse apically, obliquely rounded basally, subglabrous or lightly pubescent above, appressed-pilose below, obscurely pinnately veined; stipules linear-lanceolate, 2-3 mm. long. Inflorescence of axillary, pedunculate heads, usually appearing more or less paniculate towards the tips of twigs because of insertion of peduncles at de- foliate or immaturely foliate nodes; peduncles about 2 cm. long, pubescent; head compact, subglobose or very short-spicate, about 3 0-flowered. Flowers small, briefly pedicellate; calyx broadly cupulate, about 1 mm. long, shallowly 5-toothed, glabrous, sometimes ciliate; corolla funnelform-campanulate, 2-3 mm. long, gla- brous except sometimes pubescent apically, deeply 5-parted; stamens numerous, about 5 mm. long. Legume oblong, 5-6 cm. long and almost 1 cm. wide, flat and thin, tapered basally, stipitate, lightly pubescent, the seeds transverse.
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Habit
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Shrub
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Distribution
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Southern Central America and West Indies.
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Note
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According to Britton and Rose, this species is confined to Jamaica, while A. Curningii is recognized as a distinct species known only from the Panamanian type. We have been unable to examine type material of either of these species, or, for that matter, of most of the synonyms listed. However, Bentham, author of A. Cumingii, with the accumulation of more material, later reduced his species, to synonymy with A. villosa (Trans. Linn. Soc. 30:532. 1875). There seems to be no reason for not accepting Bentham's judgment, at least without reference to type material. Bentham's type sheet of A. Cumingii (Cuming I242) thus becomes the record on which we base inclusion of A. villosa in Panama. No additional collections from there have come to our attention. Necessarily, the description above given is a composite from several sources and does not reflect any given specimen. Acacia villosa somewhat resembles A. angustissima, but can be distinguished from it in having significantly broader and usually larger, more pubescent leaflets.
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