Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.16.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Clitoriinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 23 studied; 59 in genus (Fantz, pers. comm.).
Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3.7–33 cm long; 0.5–5 cm wide; 0.2–0.5 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide to more than 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 to curved (slightly); not plicate; not twisted; symmetrical, or asymmetrical; linear, or falcate; with both sutures parallelly curved; not inflated; compressed; with beak; straight; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; tapered at apex to short 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; chartaceous to coriaceous to leathery; seed chambers externally visible, or invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with flange(s), or thickened sutural areas, or wing(s); wing(s) absent, or present (only in sect. Neurocarpum (A.N. Desvaux) J.G. Baker); wing(s) 2; wing(s) 1 mm wide; wing(s) valvular; wing(s) on both valves (medial, occasionally incompletely formed); nonstipitate, or substipitate (only in subgen. Clitoria); with the stipe 0.5–1 mm long; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; active; with valves twisting. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome, or multicolored; mottled; brown or greenish brown, or yellow; with brown overlay; mottling color combination constant; with mottling over seed chambers; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or glabrate, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence, or 2 types of pubescence; strigose and puberulent, or puberulent and villous (sparsely), or puberulent; with pubescence gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features; not veined; not tuberculate; blistered, or scurfy; not exfoliating; with cracks, or without cracks; cracking oblique to fruit length; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick to thin; surface not veined; 3-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; with vitriol layer over 2 distinct solid layers; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; mottled; white; with mottling over seed chambers; with brown overlay; scurfy; without adhering pieces of testa; septate to subseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; exfoliating in part; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; with wing(s) extending into epicarp, or without wings; entire. Seed(s) 2–11; length parallel with fruit length, or transverse to fruit length (seeds nearly round); neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–5 mm long; of 1 length only; thick; triangular. Aril present; dry; when dry 2-lipped rim-aril, or rim-aril (with tongue); entire; covering less than 1/2 of seed; with tongues (or flap) on lips of 2-lipped rim-aril; with 1 tongue or flap on 1 lip of 2-lipped rim-aril, or 2 tongues or flaps, 1 on each lip of 2-lipped rim-aril (smaller one on second lip); cream.
Seed: 5–23 mm long; 4.8–22 mm wide; 1.8–5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular, or angular; symmetrical, or asymmetrical (slightly); nearly circular, or reniform, or rhombic, or oblong; terete to compressed to flattened; 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, or partially adhering to endocarp; free from endocarp; glossy, or dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or mottled; with frequent mottles; reddish or dark brown, or green (brownish); with black overlay; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous to coriaceous (sub). Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible, or partially concealed; 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; 1–1.3 mm long; with curved outline; oval; apical at apex of radicle tip to subapical to radicle tip to apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; raised, or flush; within rim; rim color of testa, or lighter than testa, or darker than testa. Lens discernible; 0.5–0.6 mm long; with margins curved; elliptic; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; mounded; dissimilar color from testa; darker than testa; brown to black; not within corona, halo, or rim, or within halo; halo color darker than testa. Endosperm present, or absent; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; restricted to region of embryo, or covering at least 1/2 of embryo, but not entire embryo; adnate to testa. Cotyledons smooth; both outer faces convex; one thicker than the other; 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; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; white to tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed, or right angled, or straight (rarely); oblique to length of seed, or perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; linear to triangular; lobe tip straight; oblique to cotyledons, or deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width, or with 90 degree turn, or straight with embryonic axis (rarely); centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons, or 1/2 to nearly length of cotyledons. Plumule well developed to moderately developed; glabrous.