Hoffmannseggia

Taxonomy

Hoffmannseggia J.A. Cavanilles Nom. cons. Icon. 4: 63 ('Hoffmanseggia'). 14 Mai 1798.

Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 1.1.34.
Tribe: Caesalpinieae.
Group: Caesalpinia.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 18 studied; ca. 21 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 1.2–4.5 cm long; 0.4–1.6 cm wide; 0.2–0.3 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; 0.5-coiled, or straight; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; ovate to oblong; with both sutures parallelly curved, or both sutures unequally curved; not inflated; flattened; without beak; tapered at apex, or long tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; chartaceous to ligneous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; substipitate; with all layers dehiscing, or with epicarp and mesocarp dehiscing and endocarp not dehiscing (or perhaps indehiscent); splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; active; with valves breaking, or revolute (breaking or spiraling). Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown, or purple (with grayish hairs); with surface texture uniform; glabrous to pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with simple hairs, or complex hairs; with T-shaped hairs; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; transversely veined relative to fruit length; not tuberculate; exfoliating, or not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present, or absent; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; ligneous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; brown; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; remaining fused to epicarp; entire. Seed(s) 2–14; length oblique to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.1–2 mm long; of 1 length only; filiform, or flattened, or partially filiform and partially thick, or thick, or triangular; plicate, or triangular. Aril absent.

Seed: 3–20 mm long; 1.5–5 mm wide; 1–2 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; ovate; 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; glossy; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; black to brown; glabrous; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features, or recessed features; rugose; pitted with small separate pits; osseous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines present; concentric, or reticulate. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; fully concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; without faboid split; punctiform; apical at apex of radicle tip to subapical to radicle tip; recessed; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens discernible; 0.1–5 mm long; with margins straight; narrowly linear to oblong; not in groove of raphe; mounded, or flush; same color as testa to similar color as testa, or dissimilar color from testa; lighter than testa; black to brown, or yellow; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; 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; with lobes; with lobes not touching; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis straight; parallel to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip straight; straight with embryonic axis; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Generic Notes

Simpson and Miao (1997) carried out extensive cladistic analyses of Hoffmannseggia using both morhological and cpDNA restriction site data. Lewis and Simpson (Lewis, pers. comm. 1998) are working on the South American and South African species of Pomaria (1.1.24A), including the African species which were formerly referred to Hoffmannseggia. Species of Hoffmannseggia have two fruit types: longer ones with more numerous seeds and shorter ones with 2 seeds.