Chorizema

Taxonomy

Chorizema J.J.H. de Labillardière Voyage Pérouse 1: 404. t. 21. 22 Feb-4 Mar 1800.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.24.10.
Tribe: Mirbelieae.
Group: Oxylobium.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 21 studied; 25 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 0.4–1.7 cm long; 0.3–0.8 cm wide; length less than twice as long as width to 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; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; ovate, or obovate, or elliptic; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture; widest near middle or D-shaped; not inflated; terete, or compressed; with beak; straight, or declined, or hooked; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; short tapered at apex, or tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; long tapered at base, or tapered at base, or short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally invisible, or visible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; stipitate, or substipitate, or nonstipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down (to somewhat down); passive. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs appressed; with 1 type of pubescence; with pubescence golden; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; 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 present; thin; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; (sub-) ligneous. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; monochrome; reddish brown; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) for number see Notes; length parallel with fruit length; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.6 mm long; of 1 length only; filiform; curved. Aril present; dry; when dry well developed rim-aril; entire; reddish brown.

Seed: 1.5–3.5 mm long; 1–2 mm wide; 1–1.3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; D-shaped, or oblong, or reniform; compressed; with surface smooth; 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; free from endocarp; glossy, or dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or mottled and streaked; with frequent mottles; with frequent streaks; brown to greenish to reddish brown, or tan, or black; with black overlay; glabrous; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features; reticulate; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; partially concealed, or fully concealed (nearly); concealed by aril; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; larger than punctiform; 0.3–0.5 mm long; with curved outline; oval; marginal according to radicle tip, or between cotyledon and radicle lobe; recessed; within rim; rim color of testa. Lens discernible; 0.5 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.3 mm from hilum; flush; similar color as testa; darker than testa; reddish brown; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thick; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; adnate to embryo, or 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; split over radicle; with lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; yellow, or orange; 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; linear; lobe tip straight; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon length; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Western Australia.

Old World; Australia (western).

Generic Notes

Taylor and Crisp (1992) revised Chorizema, and our species count comes from this publication. All fruiting material available to us was dehisced, therefore we were unable to determine the number of seeds per fruit. Taylor and Crisp did not report the number of seeds per fruit, but they did report that the ovaries had 8–30 ovules and that C. retrorsum J.M. Taylor & M.D. Crisp has as many as 35 ovule per ovary.

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.