Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 1.4.77.
Tribe: Detarieae.
Group: Brachystegia.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 1 in genus.
Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 9.5–10 cm long; 4–4.5 cm wide; 0.3–0.4 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with deciduous calyx; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture; widest near middle or D-shaped (or oblanceolate to oblong); not inflated; flattened; without beak; tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; rounded at base; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; ligneous ("osseousus"); seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; substipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along 1 suture (along ventral suture); apical and down. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown to reddish brown; with surface texture uniform; glabrous; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; faintly veined; obliquely veined relative to fruit length; not tuberculate; warty (irregularly); exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; ligneous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; reddish brown or brown; without adhering pieces of testa; subseptate; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; entire. Seed(s) 2–4; length transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.1–1.9 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; straight. Aril absent.
Seed: 18–22 mm long; 13–17 mm wide; 2–3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; ovate; 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; nearly glossy; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; reddish brown; glabrous; not smooth; with elevated features; obliquely rugose (smoothy along margins); coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; fully concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; without faboid split; larger than punctiform; 0.1–2 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; apical at apex of radicle tip; flush; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens not discernible. Endosperm present; or not understood?; pluglike and resembling tip of radicle; or not understood?; adnate to or not understood?. 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; similar at apex; completely concealing radicle; notched at radicle and split over radicle; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis straight; parallel to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; centered between cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.
Seed, cotyledon, embryo, and testa: L. klainei (J.B.L. Pierre ex H.A.T. Harms) A.C. Hoyle - far left cotyledon notched and split and concealing radicle (radiclelike structure is a plug of endosperm) (above) and embryonic axis (below), top left center seed topography, bottom left center seeds, testa SEMs.
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