Kennedia

Taxonomy

Kennedia É.P. Ventenat Nom. cons. Jard. Malm. ad t. 104. Jul 1805.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.47.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Kennediinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 10 studied; 15 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3–7 cm long; 0.7–1.2 cm wide; 0.3–0.7 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight; not plicate; not twisted; symmetrical (or nearly symmetrical); linear; not inflated; compressed; without beak; tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit to oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base to tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit to oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; chartaceous to coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible, or invisible; margin not constricted, or constricted (rarely slightly); margin slightly constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain, or embellished; margin with thickened sutural areas; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; active; with valves twisting. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; light to dark brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate, or glabrous, or pubescent but soon deciduous; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; tomentose, or sericeous; with pubescence gray-brown, or gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features; not veined; not tuberculate; drying wrinkled; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thin; surface not veined; 2-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; with spongy layer over solid layer; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome, or mottled; brown, or tan; with mottling more or less uniform and over seed chambers (dark); with brown overlay; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; septate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; chartaceous; exfoliating in part; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 4–9; length transverse to fruit length, or oblique to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–2.5 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; triangular. Aril present; fleshy; when fleshy annular (bulbous and partially extended over lens at end opposite radicle lobe, narrow at end near radicle lobe); entire to crenate; covering less than 1/2 of seed; with tongues (or flap) on lips of 2-lipped rim-aril; with 1 tongue or flap on 1 lip of 2-lipped rim-aril; tan.

Seed: 3.7–8.5 mm long; 3.8–5 mm wide (including aril); 2.8–2.9 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform; terete; 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, or mottled; with frequent mottles; brown (or dark brown); with brown overlay (darker); glabrous; smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; partially concealed; concealed by aril; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; larger than punctiform; 2.4 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; marginal according to radicle tip; flush; within halo; halo darker than testa. Lens discernible (but mostly hidden by aril); 0.5–1.5 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; similar color as testa; darker than testa; within halo; halo color darker than testa. Endosperm present; thick; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; adnate to embryo. Cotyledons not smooth; sulcate; 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; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique; oblique to length of seed, or parallel to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip curved; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule well developed; glabrous.

Distribution

Australia.

Old World; Australia.

Generic Notes

Berg (1979) studied the myrmecochorous dispersal of Kennedia and Hardenbergia (10.48) seeds.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Phaseoleae

Bruneau et al. (1995) carried out cladistic analyses of tribe Phaseoleae using chloroplast DNA restriction site data. Their results indicated that the tribe is not monophyletic and that the tribal delimitations between Phaseoleae and Desmodieae (11) and between Phaseoleae and Millettieae (7) are problematic.