Lackeya

Taxonomy

Lackeya R.H. Fortunato, L.P. de Queiroz & G.P. Lewis Kew Bull. 51(2): 365. 1996.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.27A.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Diocleinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 1 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3.5–6.5 cm long; 1.4–1.9 cm wide; 0.5–0.9 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; straight; not plicate; not twisted; symmetrical; narrowly obovate, or oblong (sometimes); not inflated; sub terete; with beak; declined; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or right-angled with longitudinal axis of fruit (sub); rounded at base, or short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; chartaceous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin constricted, or not constricted; margin constricted along both margins to slightly constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with ridge(s) (ca. 2 mm from suture); 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; blackish brown to brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs appressed; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence brown; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; stiff; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; not veined; not tuberculate; wrinkled; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thin; 2-layered; without balsamic vesicles; with fibers; without reniform canals; with fibers below solid or compacted fibrous layer (below solid layer); chartaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; exfoliating; separating from mesocarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) (1–)2–4(–5); length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–0.6 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; triangular. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril (with 1 or rarely 2 tongues on the rim); entire; covering less than 1/2 of seed; cream to tan.

Seed: 4–9 mm long; 4–7 mm wide; 3.5–6.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; circular to elliptic; 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, or glossy (rarely); not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or streaked; with frequent streaks, or infrequent streaks; brown to red (blackish), or tan; with brown overlay, or tan overlay; glabrous; smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe visible, or not visible; from hilum through lens and terminating before base of seed; not bifurcating; color of testa, or lighter than testa, or darker than testa; brown; flush, or recessed. 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; 1.2–2.8 mm long; with curved outline, or straight outline; narrowly elliptic; oblong; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; flush; within halo, or within rim; halo of testa; rim color of testa. Lens discernible, or not discernible; 0.7 mm long; with margins curved; elliptic; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; same color as testa, or dissimilar color from testa; darker than testa; brown; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm apparently absent. 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; slightly notched at 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 straight to oblique (slightly); perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip straight; perpendicular to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Southeastern United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas).

New World; United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas).

Generic Notes

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 Fortunato, de Queiroz and Lewis segrated it as the monotypic genus Lackeya, L. multiflora (J. Torrey & A. Gray) R.H. Fortunato, L.P. de Queiroz & G.P. Lewis (Fortunato et al., 1996).

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.