Re-establishment of Chamaecrista cultrifolia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae) based on morphological and molecular analyses

The wide morphological variation observed in Chamaecrista diphylla was analyzed using morphological and molecular data. Three distinct morphotypes were identified, namely: a morphotype corresponding to the original description of Chamaecrista diphylla , a second morphotype corresponding to the original description of the synonym Chamaecrista cultrifolia , and a third morphotype with shared characteristics of the other two, which in the molecular analyses grouped with the C. cultrifolia morphotype. Chamaecrista cultrifolia is re-established as a distinct species, but its circumscription is emended to include the third morphotype identified in the morphological and molecular analyses of this study.