Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.1.14.
Tribe: Swartzieae.
Group: Ateleia.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 2 in genus.
Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3.5–4.1 cm long; 0.8–1.3 cm wide; 0.2–0.3 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with persistent androecial sheath (with or without various petals), or deciduous androecial sheath; with persistent corolla (with or without androecial sheath), or deciduous corolla; with various petals; with persistent calyx, or deciduous calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; slightly curved; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture (nearly); widest near middle or D-shaped; not inflated; flattened, or compressed; with beak; straight; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; half rounded at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; chartaceous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; stipitate; with the stipe 10–13 mm long; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along 1 suture; apical and down; active. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown, or orange; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence golden, or brown; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; 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; mottled; tan; with mottling more or less uniform (dark); with brown overlay; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–2; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 1.2 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; straight. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril; entire; tan.
Seed: 7.5–11 mm long; 4–7 mm wide; 2.2–3.2 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform; 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; monochrome; brown; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe visible; from hilum through lens and terminating before base of seed; not bifurcating; darker than testa; darker brown; flush. Hilum present; visible; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; larger than punctiform; 1–1.5 mm long; with curved outline; circular, or elliptic; marginal according to radicle tip; flush; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens discernible; 1–2.5 mm long; with margins straight; diamond-shaped; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 1–1.3 mm from hilum; flush; similar color as testa; darker than testa; brown; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm absent. 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; notched at radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; yellow; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis parallel; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; linear; lobe tip straight; with 90 degree turn; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.
Tribe Swartzieae
Swartzieae has been assigned to Caesalpinioideae (Cowan, 1968), Swartzioideae (de Candolle, 1825a, 1825b; Corner, 1976), and Faboideae (Bentham, 1865, Hutchinson, 1964, Cowan, 1981). In 1968, Cowan (1968) was unable "finally to resolve the sub-familial relationship of Swartzia," but in 1981, he (Cowan 1981) placed it in the Faboideae and stated, "... features appear to support the arrangement adopted here (Cowan 1981) with the Swartzieae representing a relatively less-advanced position in the Papilionoideae (Faboideae). This conclusion is now supported by wood anatomy ..., by nodulation proclivity ..., and by chemistry ...; chromosome numbers of n=8, 10 or 14 ..., as well as pollen morphology ..., do not negate this conclusion." In the most recent assessment of the Fabaceae, Polhill (1994a, 1994b) maintained Swartzieae as a basal tribe of Faboideae, "transitional to the Caesalpinioideae." He transferred four genera from Sophoreae (2) into the Swartzieae, Amburana (3.1.15), Ateleia (3.1.13), Cyathostegia (3.1.14), and Holocalyx (3.1.12), and arranged the genera in four groups corresponding to clades in Herendeen's (1994) cladistic analysis. Herendeen carried out cladistic analyses using morphological characters of all Swartzieae genera, 19 genera of Sophoreae, and three Caesalpinioideae genera. He concluded that Swartzieae is polyphyletic and that it should be disbanded and its genera transferred to Sophoreae. Preliminary rbcL data (Doyle et al. 1997) supported his conclusions. Ireland et al. (2000) also carried out molecular phylogenetic studies. They also concluded that Swartizeae is polyphyletic, and suggested that possibly tribe Swartzieae could be maintained with Swartzia (3.1.01), Bobgunnia (3.1.01A), Bocoa (3.1.02), Ateleia (3.1.13), Cyathostegia (3.1.14) and the current remaining Swartzieae genera transferred to other tribes. Our seed data neither support nor refute the overall outlines of Herendeen's cladograms; they are discussed below for a few genera. Ferguson and Skvarla (1991) reported on the pollen morphology of Aldina and Swartzia (1.01), and the nine other genera of Swartzieae are covered in Ferguson and Skvarla (1988). Their data are summarized in a computer-generated key in Vezey et al. (1991). The pollen data for the tribe should be compared with our seed-fruit morphological data.
Authors: J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., C.R. Gunn, A.L. Weitzman, M.J. Dallwitz, K.R. Thiele
Content last updated April 2003
Released April 2024 on idtools.org
