Aotus

Taxonomy

Aotus J.E. Smith Ann. Bot. (König et Sims) 1: 504. 1–15 Jan 1805.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.24.21.
Tribe: Mirbelieae.
Group: Pultenaea.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 8 studied; 16–18 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 0.5–0.6 cm long; 0.4–0.45 cm wide; 0.3–0.45 cm thick; length less than twice as long as width; 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; not plicate; not twisted; symmetrical, or asymmetrical; more or less circular; with both sutures parallelly curved; not inflated; terete; without beak; rounded at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit, or aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; ligneous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; wing(s) absent; stipitate, or substipitate; with the stipe 0.1–15 mm long; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; passive. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; dark reddish brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; villous; with pubescence golden, or gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; glandular; with glandular dots; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; not veined; not tuberculate; shagreen and subvesicular; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; ligneous. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; monochrome, or mottled; dark reddish brown; with mottling more or less uniform (dark); with brown overlay (reddish); smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1, or 2; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching, or overlapping and touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.1–0.5 mm long; of 1 length only; thick; straight. Aril present, or absent; dry; when dry rim-aril; entire; white.

Seed: 2.2–3 mm long; 1.7–3 mm wide; 1–2 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular, or angular (somewhat); asymmetrical; D-shaped, or oblong (more or less); compressed; with surface smooth; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes same color as testa; 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 (cuticle may be raised causing silver patches); dark to light reddish brown, or black; glabrous; not smooth; with elevated features; reticulate, or reticulate and shagreen; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible, or partially concealed; concealed by funicular remnant, or radicle lobe, or wing; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; punctiform to larger than punctiform; 0.1–0.5 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; marginal according to radicle tip, or between cotyledon and radicle lobe; recessed; not within corona, halo, or rim, or within halo; halo lighter than testa. Lens discernible, or not discernible; 0.1–0.5 mm long; with margins straight, or curved; triangular; more or less circular; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; dissimilar color from testa; darker than testa; black (ish); not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thick (reflecting testa reticulation); not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; adnate to testa, or 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; not concealing radicle; split over radicle; with lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; green, or tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip straight, or hooked; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon length; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Australia.

Old World; Australia.

Generic Notes

The thick cuticle on the testa exfoliates during soaking of the seed.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Mirbelieae

Crisp and Weston (1987) analyzed the Mirbelieae, and we are following their species counts. We did not treat the following new taxa of Crisp and Weston: the Pultenaea incurvata A. Cunningham group of five species; Pultenaea neurocalyx P.K.N.S. Turczanivow, a one species group; Aotus phyliocides G. Bentham, a one species group; and, Oxylobium microphyllum G. Bentham, a two species genus. The genus Cupulanthus J. Hutchinson is listed on page 85 of Crisp and Weston (1987) and not mentioned by them again. Crisp and Weston (1995) have continued their phylogenetic studies of Mirbelieae, and proposed two major generic changes, the resurrection of Podolobium R. Brown with six species of Oxylobium (24.09, see Notes for Oxylobium) and a new genus, tentatively to be named Otion. Otion, as projected, will have six species, two new ones and four from four different genera: Aotus phylicoides G. Bentham, Burtonia simplicifolia F.J.H. von Mueller & R. Tate, Oxylobium microphyllum G. Bentham, and Phyllota luehmannii F.J.H. von Mueller.