Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michaux) Greene var. macrosperma (Fernald) C.F. Reed. Series: Chamaecrista. Common name: Tidal-marsh Partridge-pea. Habitat: Freshwater tidal marshes. Distribution: Endemic to e. VA (Rappahannock, Mattaponi, Pamunkey, Chickahominy, James, and Appomattox Rivers and their major estuarine tributaries) and MD.
Origin/Endemic status: Endemic
Taxonomy Comments: Isely (1975) did not recognize this taxon formally, but treated it informally as ‘variant 1’, commenting (incorrectly) that it is "apparently a local, saline-adapted ecotype". Irwin & Barneby (1982) treated C. fasciculata as a very polymorphic species in which it was impractical to recognize infraspecific taxa, concluding "a student of tropical Chamaecrista has the choice of accepting as a fact of life the sort of infraspecific variability that inspired the dissection of C. fasciculata or of retreating to the position of Britton & Urban who, driven by logic rather than sense, found a species in every particular combination of gland and hairiness that fell in their way. But in passing over the observed variation as taxonomically insignificant, it is well to bear in mind that its cause and its biological significance remain a mystery." Botanists familiar with var. macrosperma in the field contend that it shows a cohesion in morphologic characters, ecology, and distribution that is biologically and taxonomically significant; we consider that it warrants varietal status. Wallace & Norwood (2024)
Synonymy ⓘ: = K4, NS, Va; = Cassia fasciculata Michx. var. fasciculata "variant 1" — Isely (1975); = Cassia fasciculata Michx. var. macrosperma Fernald — F, G; < Cassia fasciculata Michx. — Tat; < Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michx.) Greene — C, FNA11.1, POWO, S, Irwin & Barneby (1982); < Chamaecrista fasciculata (Michx.) Greene var. fasciculata — SE3, Isely (1998). Basionym: Cassia fasciculata Michx. var. macrosperma Fernald 1940
Links to other floras: < Chamaecrista fasciculata - FNA11.1
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Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Great Plains: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Midwest: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
- Northcentral & Northeast: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
Heliophily ⓘ: 9
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© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷Feedback
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