Mastersia

Taxonomy

Mastersia G. Bentham In G. Bentham et J.D. Hooker, Gen. 1: 535. 19 Oct 1865.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.38.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Glycininae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 2 studied; 2 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 8–14 cm long; 2.4–3 cm wide; 0.3–0.4 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; asymmetrical; falcate, or linear; with both sutures parallelly curved, or both sutures nearly straight; not inflated; flattened; with beak (short); declined; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; rounded at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; rounded at base to tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit to oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit (slightly); with the apex and base uniform in texture; chartaceous, or fragile, thinner than chartaceous, like Trifolium; seed chambers externally visible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present; wing(s) 1, or 2; wing(s) 1–2 mm wide; wing(s) sutural; wing(s) on 1 suture, or both sutures; nonstipitate; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Epicarp glossy; monochrome; drying dark brown to black, or black to yellow to green ((black to reddish yellow to green) in life lighter); with surface texture uniform; glabrous; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; not veined; not tuberculate; wrinkled; exfoliating in part, or not exfoliating; with cracks; cracking transverse to fruit length; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; trace; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; chartaceous. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; streaked; brown; with various shades brown overlay; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; subseptate; with septa thicker than paper, firm; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; with wing(s) extending into epicarp; entire. Seed(s) 5–20; length transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 5 mm long; of 1 length only; filiform; contorted. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril and tongue-aril; fimbriate; tan.

Seed: 6.3 mm long; 3.4 mm wide; 1.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform; 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; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; dark reddish brown; 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; 1 mm long; with curved outline; circular; marginal according to radicle tip; recessed; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens discernible; 1 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 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; partially concealing radicle; split over radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; brown; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis straight; perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; linear; lobe tip curved; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Indomalaysia.

Old World; India, or Indonesia and the Philippines, or Pacific (Borneo, Celebes, Moluccas).

Generic Notes

Lackey (1981) noted that Mastersia resembles Shuteria (10.41), "especially in its seeds."Welzen and Hengst (1984) monographed Mastersia. Only one immature seed was studied internally.

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.