Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.1.15.
Tribe: Swartzieae.
Group: Ateleia.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 2 studied; 2 in genus.
Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 5.5–11 cm long; 1.5–2.1 cm wide; 0.5–1.1 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; linear to oblong, or samaroid; with both sutures parallelly curved, or both sutures unequally curved; not inflated; flattened; without beak; rounded at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; leathery; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin not constricted; margin plain; wing(s) absent; substipitate (from literature), or nonstipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; active; with valves reflexing. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull to semiglossy; monochrome; dark brown; with surface texture uniform; glabrous; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; not veined; not tuberculate; rugose and wrinkled; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick; 2-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; with solid layer over solid layer; ligneous (to subligneous). Endocarp present; visible; dull and glossy; opaque; monochrome, or monochrome and mottled; tan to white; with mottling above and below seed chambers; with brown overlay; rugose; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–2; length parallel with fruit length; overlapping; in 1 series. Aril absent.
Seed: 45–66 mm long; 11–20 mm wide; 4–6.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; samaroid; 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, or partially adhering to endocarp (in a fine layer); free from endocarp; dull; modified by a bloom; colored; mottled; with infrequent mottles; brown, or tan; glabrous; not smooth; with elevated features; wrinkled; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) present; at 1 end. Raphe visible; from 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; color of testa, or lighter than testa; brown; raised. Hilum present; partially concealed, or fully concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; without faboid split; larger than punctiform; 1–2 mm long; with curved outline; oval; subapical to radicle tip; recessed; within rim; rim color of testa. Lens discernible; ca. 1 mm long; with margins curved; circular; in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; recessed; same color as testa; brown; within rim; rim color of testa. Endosperm absent. 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; partially concealing radicle; notched at radicle; with lobes; with lobes touching (auriculate); 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 straight, or oblique (slightly); parallel to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; triangular; lobe tip straight; straight with embryonic axis, or oblique to cotyledons (slightly); centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.
Northeastern Brazil to southeastern Peru and northern Argentina
New World; South America; Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and the Guianas.
Tribe Swartzieae
Swartzieae has been assigned to Caesalpinioideae (Cowan, 1968), Swartzioideae (de Candolle, 1825a, 1825b; Corner, 1976), and Faboideae (Bentham, 1865, Hutchinson, 1964, Cowan, 1981). In 1968, Cowan (1968) was unable "finally to resolve the sub-familial relationship of Swartzia," but in 1981, he (Cowan 1981) placed it in the Faboideae and stated, "... features appear to support the arrangement adopted here (Cowan 1981) with the Swartzieae representing a relatively less-advanced position in the Papilionoideae (Faboideae). This conclusion is now supported by wood anatomy ..., by nodulation proclivity ..., and by chemistry ...; chromosome numbers of n=8, 10 or 14 ..., as well as pollen morphology ..., do not negate this conclusion." In the most recent assessment of the Fabaceae, Polhill (1994a, 1994b) maintained Swartzieae as a basal tribe of Faboideae, "transitional to the Caesalpinioideae." He transferred four genera from Sophoreae (2) into the Swartzieae, Amburana (3.1.15), Ateleia (3.1.13), Cyathostegia (3.1.14), and Holocalyx (3.1.12), and arranged the genera in four groups corresponding to clades in Herendeen's (1994) cladistic analysis. Herendeen carried out cladistic analyses using morphological characters of all Swartzieae genera, 19 genera of Sophoreae, 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. Ireland et al. (2000) also carried out molecular phylogenetic studies. They also concluded that Swartizeae is polyphyletic, and suggested that possibly tribe Swartzieae could be maintained with Swartzia (3.1.01), Bobgunnia (3.1.01A), Bocoa (3.1.02), Ateleia (3.1.13), Cyathostegia (3.1.14) and the current remaining Swartzieae genera transferred to other tribes. Our seed data neither support nor refute the overall outlines of Herendeen's cladograms; they are discussed below for a few genera. Ferguson and Skvarla (1991) reported on the pollen morphology of Aldina and Swartzia (1.01), and the nine other genera of Swartzieae are covered in Ferguson and Skvarla (1988). Their data are summarized in a computer-generated key in Vezey et al. (1991). The pollen data for the tribe should be compared with our seed-fruit morphological data.
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
