Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.14.15.
Tribe: Aeschynomeneae.
Subtribe: Aeschynomeninae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 18 studied; ca. 40 in genus.
Fruit: A legume, or a loment (or a loment segment); unilocular; 0.5–1.5 cm long; 0.4–0.55 cm wide; 0.3 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; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture; narrowing in several places, resembling Desmodium (3.11.09) fruit; not inflated; flattened; without beak, or with beak; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; rounded 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; coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin constricted; margin constricted on 1 margin and slightly constricted on the other margin; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Loment indehiscent; segments (articles) inconspicuous; segments (articles) 6.5 mm long; segments (articles) widest across seed area; segments (articles) with all essentially similar in shape; segments (articles) D-shaped. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent but soon deciduous; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs, or glandular hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; glandular, or eglandular; with glandular hairs; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; warty (scattered to numerous); 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; septate, or subseptate, or nonseptate; with septa thicker than paper, firm; with septa eglandular; coriaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1, or 2; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; thick; straight. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril; entire; covering less than 1/2 of seed; dark reddish brown.
Seed: 2.4–4 mm long; 2.2–3.5 mm wide; 1–2 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; nearly circular, or D-shaped, or quadrangular (nearly), or reniform; compressed; with 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; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; purplish black, or brown (reddish); smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; partially concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; without faboid split; larger than punctiform; 0.3–0.4 mm long; with curved outline; circular; between cotyledon and radicle lobe; flush; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens discernible, or not discernible; with margins straight, or curved; irregular, or linear, or wedge-shaped; irregular; not in groove of raphe, or in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; flush, or recessed; dissimilar color from testa; darker than testa; black; 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; partially concealing radicle; split over radicle; with lobes; with lobes not touching; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; red; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip straight; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons, or 1/2 to nearly length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.
Tribe Aeschynomeneae
Rudd (1981a) recognized four subtribes of Aeschynomeneae: Ormocarpinae V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.01–3.14.08), Aeschynomeninae (genera 3.14.09–3.14.16), Discolobinae (A.E. Burkart) V.E. Rudd (genus 3.14.17: Discolobium), Poiretiinae (A.E. Burkart) V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.18–3.14.21), and Stylosanthinae (G. Bentham) V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.22–13.4.26). Tribal and subtribal placement of Diphysa is based on Lavin (1987; Polhill, 1994a, 1994b), and not on Polhill and Sousa (1981), who placed Diphysa in Robinieae. Bailey et al. (1997), using the chloroplast rpl2 intron and ORF184, suggested that Brya (11.01), Cranocarpus (11.02), Phylacium (11.22), and Neocollettia (11.26) are not members of Desmodieae (11) and that they probably belong in Aeschynomeneae.
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
