Cruddasia

Taxonomy

Cruddasia D. Prain In G. King et D. Prain, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 67: 287. 15 Sep 1898.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.13.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Ophrestiinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 4 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 30–40 cm long; 8.5–9.5 cm wide; 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; not plicate; not twisted; slightly asymmetrical; linear; with both sutures nearly straight; not inflated; flattened; without beak; short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base to rounded at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; chartaceous; seed chambers externally , barely visible; 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; velutinous; with pubescence white; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth; not veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thin; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; 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) 3–5; length oblique to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 2 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; triangular. Aril present; fleshy; when fleshy hippocrepiform rim-aril; 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; tan.

Seed: 6–8 mm long; 4–5.5 mm wide; 2–3.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform; compressed; with surface smooth; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes (barely), 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; glossy; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; brown; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim 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; 2.5 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; recessed; not within corona, halo, or rim, or within halo; halo darker than testa. Lens discernible; 0.5–0.8 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; similar color as testa; darker than testa; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering at least 1/2 of embryo, but not entire embryo; adnate to testa. Cotyledons not smooth; dimpled once; 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; partially concealing radicle; split over radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; yellowish green; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique; oblique to length of seed to perpendicular 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 rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Southeast Asia, And southern China.

Old World; China and Indochina (Thailand and Burma, southern China).

Generic Notes

Niyomdham (1992) described a new species of Cruddasia, C. craibii C. Niyomdham, and transferred two other species into the genus, C. laotica (F. Gagnepain) C. Niyomdham and C. pinnata (E.D. Merrill) C. Niyomdham. His species count and distribution were used. Only fruits from a single specimen were studied.

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.