Name
Acaciella bicolor Britton & Rose, N. Amer. Fl. 23: 102. 1928
Rico Arce & BachmanAnales del Jardín Botánico de MadridVol. 63(2): 189-244July-December 2006
Synonymy and types
Type: Mexico: Guerrero, Acapulco and vicinity, Palmer 297 (holotype, NY!; isotypes, BM! G!, K!, US!).
Acacia velvae L. Rico, Bol. Soc. Bot. Mexico 43: 67-68, fig. 1, 1982. Type: Mexico: Guerrero, Municipio de Zumpango del Río, 6 km NE de Xochipala, J.L. Contreras 78 (holotype, MEXU!; isotypes, ENCB!, FCME!).
Formal description
Shrub or perennial herb to 4 m tall, densely hispidulous. Stipules broadly ovate, 5 mm long, striate with an apical blackish area, fugacious. Leaves 4.5-8(12) cm long; petiole (1.3)3-4 cm long, terete, densely hispidulous; rachis 1.5-5(8) cm long, shortly strigose, with 3- 10 pairs of pinnae; pinnae 2-6(9) cm long; paraphyllidia 1 mm long; leaflets 15-32 pairs per pinna, 6-15 × 2-6(8) mm, narrowly elliptic, base oblique, apex rounded, slightly mucronate, venation not visible, densely tomentose on both surfaces, membranaceous. Inflorescences consisting of clusters of 2-4 capitulumlike racemes in branched axils; peduncles 1-1.5 cm long; tomentose, without pearl glands, with an inflorescence bract below the capitulum, fugacious; floral bract 1.2-1.5 mm long, pubescent outside, clavate, fugacious; pedicels 2 mm long, glabrous; flowers white, yellow when dry, in short racemes up to 1.5 cm in diam. at anthesis. Calyx 1 mm long, 5-lobed, the lobes less than ¼ of the length of whole calyx, tomentose. Corolla 2.5 mm long, 5-lobed, the lobes more than half the whole corolla length, tomentose. Stamens 6-7 mm long. Ovary 0.75-1 mm long, glabrous, short-stipitate, the stipe 0.35 mm long; basal nectary 0.5 mm high. Legume 6-6.5 × 1-1.4 × 0.3 cm, flat, straight, valves chartaceous, conspicuously reticulate, usually velutinous, occasionally glabrous, acute at the base and apex; stipe 1 cm long; beak 1 mm long. Seeds 6-12 per fruit, only seen immature.
Distribution
Mexico: Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz.
Additional info
Habitat. Low seasonally dry forest, mesophyllous forest, Quercus and mixed Pinus-Quercus forest. In deep soils (> 80 cm) rich in humus, usually on limestone. Alt. 1300-2300 m.
Flowering time
Flowering in April-June, August-September and October, fruiting in February and August-September.
Representative specimens
MEXICO:
Guerrero:
- Atoyac San Jeronimo, Río, 9 Mi. WSW of Xochipala, road from Milpillas to Atoyac de Alvarez, 17º 05' N, 100º 29' W, 1800 m, 30-VI-1982, Thomas, W.W. 2841 (MEXU).
Oaxaca:
- 20 km al SW de Yosocuta y 3 km al SW de la desv. a San Miguel Papalutla. Distrito de Huajuapán, 16º 57' N, 96º 35' W, 1900 m, 18-VI-1982, Cedillo, R. 1438 (MEXU);
- Mpio. San Miguel del Puerto, Cerro Lobo, 16º 11'64'' N, 96º 06'33'' W, 2092 m, 27- V-1903, Pascual, J. 777 (MEXU).
Puebla:
- 3 km NE de Acatlán de Osorio, 18º 16' N, 98º 03' W, 1150 m, 23-VI-1984, Hernández H.M. 261 (MEXU).
Veracruz:
- Teocelo, Cañón de Comalapán o las Canastas, 19º 23' N, 96º 58' W, 22-X-1975, Calzada, J.I. 2067 (MEXU, XAL).