Taxonomic revision of Acosmium Schott (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Sophoreae)

Abstract

This work presents a taxonomic revision of Acosmium Schott, including an identification key, descriptions, illustrations, and a distribution map for the taxa. Acosmium is a South American genus with three accepted species: A. cardenasii H.S. Irwin & Arroyo, A. diffusissimum (Mohlenbr.) Yakovlev, and A. lentiscifolium Schott. Acosmium fallax (Taub.) Yakovlev is proposed as a new synonym of A lentiscifolium. In addition, aspects on morphology and specific delimitation in Acosmium, as well as on its geographical distribution, which appears to be strongly associated with the distribution of the seasonally dry tropical forests in South America, are discussed.