Ammodendron

Taxonomy

Ammodendron F.E.L. von Fischer ex A.P. de Candolle Prodr. 2: 523. Nov (med.) 1825.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.2.46.
Tribe: Sophoreae.
Group: Sophora.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 6 studied; ca. 6 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 1.6–4.2 cm long; 0.4–1 cm wide; 0.2–0.3 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight, or curved (slightly); not plicate; twisted; symmetrical; fusiform to ovate (narrowly); not inflated; flattened to compressed; without beak, or with beak (short); straight; with papery fragile beak up to 1 cm long; tapered at apex, or rounded at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; chartaceous to coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain, or embellished; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present; wing(s) 4; wing(s) 0.2–0.5 mm wide; wing(s) valvular; wing(s) on both valves (2 on each valve, 0.5–2 mm from sutures); nonstipitate; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; tan, or yellow, or orange; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or glabrate, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence white; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; not veined; not tuberculate; wrinkled; not exfoliating; with cracks, or without cracks; cracking irregular; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present, or absent; trace; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without reniform canals; solid; chartaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; yellow to orange; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; separating from epicarp; with wing(s) extending into epicarp; entire. Seed(s) 1–2; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; flattened; straight. Aril present, or absent; dry; when dry very thin rim-aril; entire; ivory.

Seed: 3.5–8.2 mm long; 2–4.5 mm wide; 1.8–4.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; oblong, or ovate; terete, or compressed; 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; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; brown to orange; glabrous; not smooth; with elevated features; wrinkled; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split lighter colored than the rest of the hilum and therefore conspicuous; larger than punctiform; 0.3–1.2 mm long; with curved outline; circular to elliptic; subapical to radicle tip; recessed; within rim; rim color lighter than testa. Lens discernible; 0.5–2 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; same color as testa; brown; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thin, or trace; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; adnate to embryo. 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; split over 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; yellow, or green; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique; perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; linear; lobe tip curved; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Central Asia.

Old World; Russia, Southwest Asia, and China.

Tribal Notes

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.