Galega

Taxonomy

Galega C. Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 714. 1 Mai 1753.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.16.20.
Tribe: Galegeae.
Subtribe: Galeginae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 5 studied; 6 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3–3.5 cm long; 0.2–0.9 cm wide; 0.12–0.13 cm thick; more than 9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath, or persistent androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; 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; symmetrical; linear; not inflated; compressed; with beak; straight; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; tapered at apex; aligned 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 invisible, or visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin not constricted, or constricted; margin constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; active; with valves twisting. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; dark reddish brown; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with glandular hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; glandular; with glandular hairs; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; longitudinally veined relative to fruit length; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp absent. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; coriaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–6; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 1 mm long; of 1 length only; filiform; curved. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril; entire; reddish brown.

Seed: 3.5–4.5 mm long; 1.8–2 mm wide; 1–1.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform, or linear; compressed; with surface smooth; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes same color as testa; 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; orange, or yellow; glabrous; smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible, or partially concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; larger than punctiform; 0.4–0.5 mm long; with curved outline; circular; marginal according to radicle tip; recessed; within halo; halo lighter than testa. Lens discernible; 0.5–1 mm long; with margins straight, or curved; oblong, or triangular; oblong; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum, or adjacent to hilum; 0.3 mm from hilum; mounded; dissimilar color from testa; darker than testa; reddish brown, or orange; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire 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; yellow, or brown (reddish); inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed; oblique to length of seed; with a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip straight; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon length; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule moderately developed, or rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Eastern Africa and Eurasia.

New World to Old World; South America and United States (naturalized); Argentina; Europe to Mediterranean to Africa to Southwest Asia to China to Russia (eastern Africa).

Generic Notes

Gillett (1963b) studied Galega species in the mountains of eastern tropical Africa. Pandey and Jha (1988) described the testa of G. offincinalis using the SEM.

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.