Leptolobium dasycarpum

Tilcayo Cats original · Plants · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Leptolobium dasycarpum is a tree or shrub in the legume family, Fabaceae, native to Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. Vogel published the name in 1837. Kew accepts it and treats Acosmium dasycarpum as a synonym.

Appearance

The Brazilian flora describes leaves divided into leaflets, with an unpaired leaflet at the tip. Short swollen joints at the bases of the leaflets, called pulvinules, are up to three millimetres long. The flower's ovary is hairy, usually with a dense, woolly covering; its upper petal is not markedly differentiated from the others.

The national conservation profile notes that small pulvinules, a longer calyx tube and usually larger floral bracts help distinguish it from the related L. parvifolium and L. elegans. The woolly ovary is another useful character.

Habitat and distribution

In Brazil, the flora records the species from the Amazon and Cerrado regions, particularly in Cerrado vegetation and rocky grasslands known as campo rupestre. Its documented Brazilian distribution extends from Rondônia and Tocantins to São Paulo, with numerous records in the centre of the country. It is therefore neither confined to one Brazilian state nor endemic to Brazil.

Conservation

CNCFlora assessed the species as Least Concern in Brazil in 2020, citing its wide distribution, repeated herbarium collections and occurrence in protected areas. The assessors nevertheless called for more research into distribution and population size and trends. This is a dated national assessment, not a new global population survey.