Neoharmsia

Taxonomy

Neoharmsia R. Viguier Notul. Syst. (Paris) 14: 186. Nov 1951.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.2.34.
Tribe: Sophoreae.
Group: Sophora.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 2 studied; 2 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 7.5–20 cm long; 1.4–1.8 cm wide; 2–3 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide, or more than 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; slightly curved; not plicate; not twisted; slightly asymmetrical; fusiform, or linear (nearly); with both sutures parallelly curved, or both sutures nearly straight; not inflated; flattened; with beak; straight; with papery fragile beak up to 1 cm long; tapered at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin constricted (by aborted ovule), or not constricted; margin slightly constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with thickened sutural areas; wing(s) absent; stipitate; with the stipe 6–15 mm long; 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; multicolored; mottled; brown; with brown overlay (darker); mottling color combination variable; with surface texture uniform; glabrous; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; finely rugose; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; trace; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without reniform canals; solid; chartaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull to glossy; opaque; mottled; yellow; with mottling above and below seed chambers; with brown overlay; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–8; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus ca. 2.5 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; straight. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril, or hippocrepiform rim-aril; entire; cream, or brown.

Seed: 10–15 mm long; 6.5–9 mm wide; 2–3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; irregular; compressed to flattened; 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, or mottled; with infrequent mottles; yellowish green to brown to yellow; with brown overlay; glabrous; not smooth; with elevated features; slightly rugose; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe visible, or not visible; from hilum through lens to base of seed and bifurcating; bifurcating at base of seed with each arm going up antiraphe side turning (U-shaped) down and approaching bifurcation; color of testa; raised. 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; 0.7–1 mm long; with curved outline; circular; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; recessed; within rim; rim color of testa. Lens discernible; 0.5–1 mm long; with margins straight; wedge-shaped; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.5 mm from hilum; flush; similar color as testa; darker than testa; brown, or green (tannish); not within corona, halo, or rim. 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; not concealing radicle; notched at radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; yellowish green; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis oblique; 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

Northwestern and western Madagascar.

Old World; Madagascar.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Sophoreae

Polhill (1981b) stated that the Sophoreae s.l. is a tribe of convenience between the Caesalpinioideae and the bulk of the Papilionoideae, sharply defined from neither. He transferred four genera from Sophoreae into the Swartzieae (1), Amburana (3.1.15), Ateleia (3.1.13), Cyathostegia (3.1.14), and Holocalyx (3.1.12), following Herendeen's (1995) cladistic analyses. Herendeen performed cladistic analyses for all Swartzieae genera, sensu Cowan (1981), 19 Sophoreae genera, and three Caesalpinioideae genera. He concluded that Swartzieae is polyphyletic and that it should be disbanded and its genera transferred to Sophoreae. Preliminary rbcL data (Doyle et al. 1997) supported his conclusions.