Chaetocalyx

Taxonomy

Chaetocalyx A.P. de Candolle Prod. 2: 243. Nov (med.) 1825.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.14.07.
Tribe: Aeschynomeneae.
Subtribe: Ormocarpinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 10 studied; 12 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A loment (or a loment segment); 7–16 cm long; 0.2–2.2 cm wide; 0.07–0.2 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx, or deciduous calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight, or curved (or slightly curved), or S-curved; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; linear; with both sutures parallelly curved; not inflated; flattened, or compressed; without beak; tapered at apex, or short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base, or rounded at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; membranous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain, or embellished; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present; wing(s) 1; wing(s) 8–10 mm wide; wing(s) continuous wing around fruit; stipitate, or substipitate, or nonstipitate; with the stipe 5–15 mm long; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Loment indehiscent; segments (articles) inconspicuous; segments (articles) 4–17 mm long; segments (articles) widest across seed area; segments (articles) with apical 1 different shape than middle one(s); segments (articles) oblong, or quadrangular. Epicarp dull; monochrome, or multicolored; bichrome (flattened fruit have a darker center (over seed chambers) that fades to lighter margins); brown, or tan; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or glabrate, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; velutinous; with pubescence gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; glandular; with glandular setae (few); 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 present; thick; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; ligneous (sub). Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; gray; cobwebby; without adhering pieces of testa; septate; with septa thicker than paper, firm; with septa eglandular; coriaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; with wing(s) extending into epicarp; entire. Seed(s) 6–16; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; straight. Aril absent

Seed: 2.5–7 mm long; 2–2.5 mm wide; 2–2.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; linear, or reniform; terete; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; without external groove between 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 to partially adhering to endocarp; free from endocarp; glossy; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; reddish brown; glabrous; smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; punctiform, or larger than punctiform; 0.3 mm long; with curved outline; circular; between cotyledon and radicle lobe; flush; within rim; rim color darker than testa (slightly). Lens discernible; with margins curved; circular; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.1 mm from hilum; mounded; similar color as testa; darker than testa; brown; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thick; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; adnate to testa. 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; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; yellow; 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 curved; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Tropical America.

New World; West Indies to Mexico to Central America to South America; Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and the Guianas.

Generic Notes

Rudd (1958) monographed the genus, and Diatloff and Diatloff (1977) noted that Chaetocalyx is a non-nodulating faboid legume genus.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Aeschynomeneae

Rudd (1981a) recognized four subtribes of Aeschynomeneae: Ormocarpinae V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.01–3.14.08), Aeschynomeninae (genera 3.14.09–3.14.16), Discolobinae (A.E. Burkart) V.E. Rudd (genus 3.14.17: Discolobium), Poiretiinae (A.E. Burkart) V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.18–3.14.21), and Stylosanthinae (G. Bentham) V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.22–13.4.26). Tribal and subtribal placement of Diphysa is based on Lavin (1987; Polhill, 1994a, 1994b), and not on Polhill and Sousa (1981), who placed Diphysa in Robinieae. Bailey et al. (1997), using the chloroplast rpl2 intron and ORF184, suggested that Brya (11.01), Cranocarpus (11.02), Phylacium (11.22), and Neocollettia (11.26) are not members of Desmodieae (11) and that they probably belong in Aeschynomeneae.