Ophrestia

Taxonomy

Ophrestia H.M.L. Forbes Bothalia 4: 1003. 1948.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.11.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Ophrestiinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 12 studied; 14 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 3–10 cm long; 0.5–1.1 cm wide; 0.4 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with persistent calyx, or deciduous calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight; not plicate; not twisted; slightly asymmetrical; linear; with both sutures nearly straight; not inflated; flattened; without beak, or with beak (in Madagascar (Du Puy et al., 2002)); tapered at apex, or short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base, or truncate at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally barely visible, or invisible; margin not constricted, or constricted (slightly); margin constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain, or embellished; margin with thickened sutural areas (slightly); wing(s) absent; nonstipitate, or substipitate (in Madagascar (Du Puy et al., 2002)); 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; brown (light); with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; tomentose; with pubescence golden; 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; wrinkled; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thin; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; subseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) (1–)2–6; length parallel with fruit length, or oblique to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–3 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; triangular. Aril present; fleshy, or dry; when fleshy hippocrepiform rim-aril; entire, or crenate; covering less than 1/2 of seed; when dry rim-aril, or hippocrepiform rim-aril; entire; 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; cream to tan, or white.

Seed: 4–11 mm long; 3–6.5 mm wide; 1.5–3.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular, or angular; asymmetrical; reniform to elliptic, or rectangular (nearly); 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; glossy to dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or mottled; with infrequent mottles; brown; with brown overlay (lighter); glabrous; smooth; chartaceous. 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; 1–2.5 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; flush, or recessed; within rim, or within halo, or not within corona, halo, or rim; halo darker than testa; rim color of testa. Lens discernible; with margins straight; linear; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; flush; similar color as testa; darker than testa; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thin, or trace; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; restricted to region of embryo, or covering at least 1/2 of embryo, but not 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; entire over radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; white to tan to brown; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis straight; oblique 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

Africa and Asia.

Old World; Africa, Madagascar, India, Indochina, and China.

Generic Notes

Lackey (1981) noted that some Asian species resemble Cruddasia (10.13), and some African species resemble Pseudoeriosema (10.12). Verdcourt (1997) described a new species from Zambia, O. breviracemosa B. Verdcourt, and provided a key to the five Ophrestia species known from Zambia.

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.