Colutea

Taxonomy

Colutea C. Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 723. 1 Mai 1753.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.16.05.
Tribe: Galegeae.
Subtribe: Coluteinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 11 studied; 28 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3–7 cm long; 2–3 cm wide; 2–3 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide, or length less than twice as long as width; 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, or symmetrical; elliptic; with both sutures parallelly curved; inflated; terete; without beak, or with beak; straight, or declined; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; long tapered at apex, or tapered at apex, or short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base, or rounded at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; membranous, or fragile, thinner than chartaceous, like Trifolium (more or less); seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; stipitate, or substipitate, or nonstipitate; with the stipe 0.1–10 mm long; indehiscent, or with all layers dehiscing (at apex); splitting along suture(s) (at apex). Dehiscence of valves passive. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome, or multicolored; mottled and streaked; tan; with purple overlay; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent but soon deciduous; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; wrinkled (on drying); not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present, or absent; thin; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; chartaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; remaining fused to epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 12–15; length transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 2 mm long; of 1 length only; filiform, or thick; straight, or curved. Aril present; dry; when dry tongue-aril; entire; tan.

Seed: 2–4.5 mm long; 2–4 mm wide; 1–1.8 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; oblong, or reniform (sub); compressed; with surface smooth; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes, or without 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; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or streaked (faintly and occasionally); with infrequent streaks; dark reddish or blackish brown, or black (nearly); with tan overlay (green); glabrous; smooth, or not smooth; with recessed features; pitted with small separate pits; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; 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; 0.5 mm long; with curved outline; circular; marginal according to radicle tip, or between cotyledon and radicle lobe; recessed; within rim; rim color lighter than testa. Lens not discernible, or discernible (faint); 1 mm long; with margins straight, or curved; oblong; elliptic, or oblong; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.2 mm from hilum; mounded; similar color as testa; lighter than testa and darker than testa; reddish brown, or tan (reddish); not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present (clear to reddish-tan); thick; 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; light reddish tan, or yellow; inner face concave; 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; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon length; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons, or 1/2 to nearly length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Mediterranean region to eastern and northeastern Africa, And China and Himalayas.

Old World; Europe to Mediterranean to Russia to Africa to Southwest Asia to China to India (Africa (eastern and northeastern)).

Tribal Notes

Tribe Galegeae

Traditionally this tribe has been called Galegeae. Reveal (1997) reported that the name Astragaleae was published before the name Galegeae. Following the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 1994), the oldest name for a taxon must be used, so Reveal suggested that this tribe should be called Astragaleae. In 1999 Reveal (1999) reversed himself, so that this tribe remains the Galegeae. Welsh (1960) reported on the Galegeae of north-central United States. Sanderson and Liston (1995) carried out cladistic analyses of Galegeae genera using molecular data. They concluded that Galegeae is paraphyletic having given rise to tribes Cicereae (20), Hedysareae (18), Trifolieae (21), and Fabeae (19), and therefore requiring a re-evaluation of the circumscription of Galegeae. Heenan (1995, 1998c), utilizing unpublished nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS data, concluded that "Carmichaelia (17.05) is nested within (the) 'Astragalean clade' of Galegeae" and is the sister group of Clianthus. He therefore supported the proposal of Sanderson and Wojciehowski (1996) that Carmichaelieae should not be recognized at tribal level, but rather included in Galegeae.