Olneya

Taxonomy

Olneya A. Gray Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts ser. 2. 5: 328. 1855.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.8.09.
Tribe: Robinieae.
Group: Robinia.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 1 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 2.5–13 cm long; 1–1.5 cm wide; 0.75–1 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx, or deciduous calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight, or curved (slightly); not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; moniliform, or oblong, or irregular; with both sutures parallelly curved, or both sutures unequally curved; not inflated; terete; without beak; short tapered at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; ligneous; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers torulose, or not torulose; margin constricted; margin constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; with all layers dehiscing (to tardily so); splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; passive. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome, or multicolored; mottled (when young); brown (to yellowish or greenish or reddish); with red overlay; mottling color combination constant; with mottling over seed chambers; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent (minute); with pubescence gray; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; glandular; with glandular setae; 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; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; vitriol; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; coriaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–11; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; flattened; straight. Aril absent.

Seed: 9–12 mm long; 6.5–9.2 mm wide; 5.5–8 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular, or angular; asymmetrical; oblong; 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; glossy, or dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or mottled; brown (reddish), or purple (grayish to brownish dark), or black; with purple overlay (pinkish), or pink overlay; glabrous; not smooth; with recessed features; pitted with stomata in the bottom of the pits; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; partially concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; 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; subapical to radicle tip, or marginal according to radicle tip (near apex); flush; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens discernible; 2.5–3 mm long; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.3–0.5 mm from hilum; mounded; same color as testa; 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; with lobes; with lobes not touching; without basal groin formed by lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; triangular; lobe tip straight; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule moderately developed; glabrous.

Distribution

Southwestern United States and northern Mexico (Sonoran Desert).

New World; southwestern United States to Mexico (northern).

Generic Notes

Lavin and Sousa (1995) monographed Olneya. Cook (1919) evaluated the edibility of the young pods and seeds, and Clarke (1977) reported that native Americans ate the seeds and ground them into flour. The Seri indians of Sonora Mexico extensively utilize Olneya as a food source, in medicine, in the production of firewood, tools, weapons, musical instruments, and sculptures, and in their religious ceremonies (Felger and Moser 1985).

Tribal Notes

Tribe Robinieae

The genera, generic groups, and related data follow the tribal treatment of Lavin and Sousa (1995; Polhill, 1994a, 1994b), not Polhill and Sousa (1981).