Cercis

Taxonomy

Cercis C. Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 374. 1 Mai 1753.

Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 1.3.01.
Tribe: Cercideae.
Subtribe: Cercidinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 4 studied; 6 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 4–12 cm long; 1.2–2 cm wide; 0.2–0.4 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; oblong; not inflated; flattened; without beak; long tapered 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; coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible (or nearly so); margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present; wing(s) 1; wing(s) 0.1–2 mm wide; wing(s) sutural; wing(s) on 1 suture (ventral); stipitate to substipitate; with the stipe 6–8 mm long; with all layers dehiscing (opening on the tree during following spring); splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures (along dorsal then ventral margins); passive (remaining attached to sutures). Replum invisible. Epicarp dull to glossy; monochrome; brown to reddish brown; with surface texture uniform; glabrous; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp absent. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; monochrome; golden yellow; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; not exfoliating; entire. Seed(s) 3–12; length oblique to fruit length to transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 1.2–1.5 mm long; of 1 length only; thick; triangular, or straight. Aril absent.

Seed: 5–6 mm long; 3.5–5 mm wide; 2–3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; circular to oblong (occasionally with basal nipple); 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; not stated or; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; dark brown to brown; glabrous; usually smooth, or not smooth; with recessed features; occasionally, over at least part of face, pitted with small separate pits; osseous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible; without faboid split; larger than punctiform; 7 mm long; with curved outline; circular; subapical to radicle tip; recessed; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens not discernible. Endosperm present; thick; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; 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; not concealing radicle; entire over radicle, or notched at radicle (barely); 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.

Distribution

Temperate Northern Hemisphere.

New World and Old World; Canada, United States, and Mexico (temperate Northern Hemisphere); Europe, Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, China, and Korea.