Cratylia

Taxonomy

Cratylia C.F.P. von Martius ex G. Bentham Commentat. Legum. Gener. 67. Jun 1837.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.25.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Diocleinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 2 studied; 5 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 6–18 cm long; 1.3–2 cm wide; 0.3–0.5 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with deciduous calyx; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight to curved (slightly); not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; linear, or falcate; with both sutures parallelly curved; not inflated; compressed; without beak, or with beak; straight, or declined; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible, or invisible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; 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; brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent, or velutinous; with pubescence golden to white; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined, or not veined; irregularly veined; not tuberculate; 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; thin; 2-layered, or 3-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; with solid layer over solid layer, or spongy layer over solid layer; with vitriol layer over 2 distinct solid layers, or solid layer over 2 distinct solid layers; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; beneath seeds monochrome and mottled (between); tan; with mottling above and below seed chambers; with brown overlay, or gray overlay; beneath seeds smooth, scurfy, and cracked (the last two between seeds); without adhering pieces of testa; subseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; exfoliating in part; separating from mesocarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 4–10; length transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–2 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; straight. Aril present; dry; when dry tongue-aril; entire; covering less than 1/2 of seed; tan.

Seed: 9 mm long; 3 mm wide; 4 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; nearly circular; compressed; 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; free from endocarp; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; mottled; with infrequent mottles; brown; with brown overlay (dark); 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 lighter colored than the rest of the hilum and therefore conspicuous; larger than punctiform; 2.5 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; subapical to radicle tip; recessed; within rim; rim color darker than testa. Lens discernible; 0.8 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; same color as testa; brown; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; trace; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; restricted to region of 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; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis right angled; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; linear; lobe tip straight; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule well developed; glabrous.

Distribution

South America.

New World; South America; Argentina, Peru, Brazil, 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.