Cologania

Taxonomy

Cologania K.S. Kunth Mimoses 205. 28 Jun 1824.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.43.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Glycininae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 10 studied; 10 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 2–6 cm long; 0.3–0.6 cm wide; 0.2–0.4 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight to curved; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; linear, or falcate; with both sutures parallelly curved; not inflated; flattened to terete; with beak (short); declined; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base, or long tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous to chartaceous; seed chambers externally invisible, or visible (slightly); seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with thickened sutural areas; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; 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; tan to brown (dark); with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect, or appressed; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent, or tomentose; with pubescence golden, or gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth; not veined; not tuberculate; 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 reniform canals; solid; chartaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan to white; scurfy, or smooth, or cracked; without adhering pieces of testa; septate, or subseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 3–14; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; flattened; triangular. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril and tongue-aril; entire; brown to cream.

Seed: 2.7–5.2 mm long; 2–3.5 mm wide; 1.7–3 mm thick; not overgrown; angular, or not angular; symmetrical, or asymmetrical; oblong, or ovate, or rectangular, or reniform, or trapezoid; terete; with surface smooth; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes, or without visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; without external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes; with shallow hilar sinus, or 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, or mottled; with frequent mottles; brown, or tan, or yellow; with black overlay; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; partially concealed, or fully concealed; concealed by aril; with faboid split, or without faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; larger than punctiform; 0.5–1 mm long; with curved outline; circular, or elliptic, or oval; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; flush; within corona; corona color lighter than testa, or darker than testa. Lens discernible; with margins straight, or curved; linear; elliptic; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; same color as testa, or similar color as testa; darker than testa; brown; within corona; corona color darker than testa. Endosperm present; thick to thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; 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; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; white, or yellow, or tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique to right angled; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip curved; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule moderately developed; glabrous.

Distribution

Mexico, Central and South America.

New World; United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America; Argentina and the Guianas.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Phaseoleae

Bruneau et al. (1995) carried out cladistic analyses of tribe Phaseoleae using chloroplast DNA restriction site data. Their results indicated that the tribe is not monophyletic and that the tribal delimitations between Phaseoleae and Desmodieae (11) and between Phaseoleae and Millettieae (7) are problematic.