Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.2.18.
Tribe: Sophoreae.
Group: Baphia.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 10 studied; ca. 45 in genus.
Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3.2–20 cm long; 1–5 cm wide; 0.4–0.8 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx, or deciduous calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight, or curved (to slightly curved); not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; falcate, or fusiform, or moniliform, or oblong; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture, or both sutures parallelly curved; widest near apex; not inflated; flattened, or compressed; without beak, or with beak; straight, or hooked; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; tapered at apex, or rounded at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit, or right-angled with longitudinal axis of fruit; long tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous to ligneous; seed chambers externally visible, or invisible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin constricted, or not constricted; margin slightly constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain, or embellished; margin with thickened sutural areas, or wing(s); wing(s) absent, or present (rarely); wing(s) 2; wing(s) 1 mm wide; wing(s) sutural; wing(s) on 1 suture; nonstipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; active; with valves twisting. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome, or multicolored; mottled; black, or brown (to purplish brown), or gray; with brown overlay; mottling color combination constant, or variable; with mottling over seed chambers; with surface texture uniform; glabrate, or pubescent and indurate, or pubescent but soon deciduous; with hairs erect, or appressed; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent, or tomentose, or villous; with pubescence gray, or brown; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features; veined, or not veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; papillose to rugose; not exfoliating; without cracks, or with cracks; cracking oblique to fruit length, or transverse to fruit length; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick, or thin; surface not veined; 1-layered, or 2-layered; without balsamic vesicles, or with balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; with solid layer over solid layer; ligneous to coriaceous (including subligneous). Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome, or bichrome; brown, or gray, or purple, or brown and gray; smooth, cracked, and floury-filamentous, or smooth and floury-filamentous, or pithy and smooth, or rugose; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous, or pulpy; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings, or with wing(s) extending into epicarp (rarely); entire. Seed(s) 1–5; length parallel with fruit length, or oblique to fruit length, or transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–3 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; straight, or contorted, or triangular. Aril present; dry; when dry 2-lipped rim-aril; entire; with tongues (or flap) on lips of 2-lipped rim-aril; with 1 tongue or flap on 1 lip of 2-lipped rim-aril, or 2 tongues or flaps, 1 on each lip of 2-lipped rim-aril; ivory, or tan.
Seed: 10–25 mm long; 6–20 mm wide; 2–5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical, or asymmetrical; circular, or elliptic, or irregular; compressed, or flattened; with surface smooth; without visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; without hilar sinus; without umbo on seed faces; without medial ridge on each face. Cuticle not exfoliating; not inflated; not wrinkled. Testa present; without pieces of adhering epicarp; not adhering to endocarp; free from endocarp; dull to glossy; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or bichrome; black, or brown, or red (to brick red), or black and red (to brick red); glabrous; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features; wrinkled; chartaceous to coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe visible, or not visible; from hilum through lens to base of seed and terminating, or hilum through lens to base of seed and bifurcating; bifurcating at base of seed with each arm going up antiraphe side turning (U-shaped) down and approaching bifurcation; darker than testa; black; raised. Hilum present; partially concealed, or fully concealed; concealed by aril; without faboid split; larger than punctiform; 1–1.5 mm long; with curved outline; circular to elliptic; apical at apex of radicle tip, or subapical to radicle tip, or apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; recessed; within corona, or not within corona, halo, or rim; corona color darker than testa. Lens discernible, or not discernible; 1–1.5 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; mounded; similar color as testa; darker than testa; black, or brown; within corona, or not within corona, halo, or rim; corona color darker than testa. Endosperm present, or absent; trace; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering at least 1/2 of embryo, but not entire embryo; adnate to testa. Cotyledons smooth; both outer faces convex; both the same thickness; both more or less of equal length; not folded; margin entire 180 degrees from base of radicle; partially concealing radicle; notched at radicle, or split over radicle; without lobes, or with lobes; with lobes overlapping, or touching (auriculate); with basal groin formed by lobes, or without basal groin formed by lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique, or right angled; oblique to length of seed, or perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; linear; lobe tip straight, or curved (slightly); deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width, or oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary to moderately developed; glabrous.
Tribe Sophoreae
Polhill (1981b) stated that the Sophoreae s.l. is a tribe of convenience between the Caesalpinioideae and the bulk of the Papilionoideae, sharply defined from neither. He transferred four genera from Sophoreae into the Swartzieae (1), Amburana (3.1.15), Ateleia (3.1.13), Cyathostegia (3.1.14), and Holocalyx (3.1.12), following Herendeen's (1995) cladistic analyses. Herendeen performed cladistic analyses for all Swartzieae genera, sensu Cowan (1981), 19 Sophoreae genera, and three Caesalpinioideae genera. He concluded that Swartzieae is polyphyletic and that it should be disbanded and its genera transferred to Sophoreae. Preliminary rbcL data (Doyle et al. 1997) supported his conclusions.
Authors: J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, A.L. Weitzman, M.J. Dallwitz, K.R. Thiele
Content last updated April 2003
Released April 2024 on idtools.org
