Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.18.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Diocleinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 12 studied; 29 in genus.
Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 10–30 cm long; (1.5–)2–6 cm wide; 0.5–2 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with persistent androecial sheath, or deciduous androecial sheath; with persistent corolla, 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; straight, or curved (slightly); not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; linear, or moniliform; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture, or both sutures unequally curved, or both sutures nearly straight; widest near middle or D-shaped; not inflated; compressed; without beak; rounded at apex, or tapered at apex to short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; rounded at base, or tapered at base to short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous to leathery to ligneous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain and embellished, or plain, or embellished; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present, or absent; wing(s) 2, or 4 (one wing on each valve, or two wings on upper suture, or two wings on both sutures); wing(s) 1–5 mm wide; wing(s) valvular, or sutural; wing(s) on both valves; wing(s) on 1 suture, or both sutures; stipitate, or nonstipitate; with the stipe 5–30 mm long; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; active, or passive; with valves twisting. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome, or multicolored; mottled; brown, or black, or yellow; with brown overlay; mottling color combination constant; with mottling over seed chambers; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent and indurate, or pubescent but soon deciduous; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent, or tomentose, or sericeous; with pubescence golden; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features; veined, or not veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; wrinkled; not exfoliating, or exfoliating in part; with cracks; cracking oblique to fruit length; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick, or thin; surface uniformly veined; 2-layered; without balsamic vesicles; with fibers, or without fibers; without reniform canals; with fibers over solid layer; with vitriol layer over solid layer; ligneous, or coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome, or mottled; brown, or white, or yellow; with mottling more or less uniform (dark); with brown overlay; cracked, or smooth and hairy; without adhering pieces of testa; with hairs surrounding seed chambers; subseptate, or nonseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; exfoliating in part; separating from mesocarp; with wing(s) extending into epicarp, or without wings; entire. Seed(s) (1–)3–13; length oblique to fruit length, or transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 2–50 mm long; of 1 length only; thick; curved, or triangular. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril and tongue-aril, or 2-lipped rim-aril; entire; covering less than 1/2 of seed; with tongues (or flap) on lips of 2-lipped rim-aril; with 2 tongues or flaps, 1 on each lip of 2-lipped rim-aril; ivory to tan.
Seed: 7.5–27 mm long; 5.3–24.5 mm wide; 3.4–15 mm thick; not overgrown; angular, or not angular; symmetrical, or asymmetrical; oblong, or ovate; terete, or 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, or partially adhering to endocarp; free from endocarp; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; mottled; with frequent mottles; reddish brown, or tan; with brown overlay; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous, or osseous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. 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; 2–80 mm long; with curved outline, or straight outline (around 3 sides of seed); elliptic; linear; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; flush; within rim, or not within corona, halo, or rim; rim color darker than testa. Lens discernible; 0.6–1.5 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; recessed; similar color as testa; darker than testa; brown; within rim, or within halo; halo color darker than testa; rim color darker than testa. Endosperm present; thin; 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; partially concealing radicle; entire over radicle, or notched at radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed, or with margin(s) recessed; with 1 margin recessed; recessed on side opposite from radicle; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique; parallel to length of seed, or oblique to length of seed, or perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose, or triangular; lobe tip straight; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule moderately developed, or rudimentary; glabrous.
Dioclea multiflora (J. Torrey & A. Gray) C.T. Mohr has been placed in the genera Dolichos (3.10.64) and Galactia (3.10.27) at different times (Maxwell 1979), and was also segrated as the monotypic genus Lackeya R.H. Fortunato, L.P. de Queiroz & G.P. Lewis (3.10.27A), as L. multiflora (J. Torrey & A. Gray) R.H. Fortunato, L.P. de Queiroz & G.P. Lewis (Fortunato et al., 1996), which we are now accepting it as a good genus. The fruits of D. megacarpa Rolfe and D. violacea Mart. ex Benth. have been described as 'anachronistic' because they supposedly evolved for dispersal by Pleistocene megafauna that are now extinct (Barlow 2000).
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
