Ormocarpum

Taxonomy

Ormocarpum A.M.F.J. Palisot de Beauvois Nom. cons. Fl. Oware 1: 95. 1810 (?) ('1806').

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.14.01.
Tribe: Aeschynomeneae.
Subtribe: Ormocarpinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 12 studied; ca. 20 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume, or a loment (or a loment segment); unilocular; 3.5–6 cm long; 0.5–0.8 cm wide; 0.2–0.3 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with persistent corolla (O. kirkii S. le M. Moore), or deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx (O. kirkii), or deciduous calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; with orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments (O. kirkii), or without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight to curved to 1-coiled (O. kirkii); not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; moniliform, or C-shaped, or coiled; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture, or both sutures parallelly curved; widest near middle or D-shaped; not inflated; flattened; without beak, or with beak; straight; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; long tapered at apex, or short tapered at apex, or rounded at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit to oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; long tapered at base, or short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit to oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin constricted; margin constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; stipitate, or substipitate; with the stipe 3–8 mm long; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Loment indehiscent; segments (articles) inconspicuous; segments (articles) 6–20 mm long; segments (articles) widest across seed area; segments (articles) with apical 1 different shape than middle one(s), or basal 1 different shape than middle one(s); segments (articles) oblong, or D-shaped. Epicarp dull; monochrome; dark green; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence yellow; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs (retrorse, often with swollen bases); stiff; with hair bases swollen, or plain (often); glandular; with glandular hairs (minutely tubercule bases); with spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; longitudinally veined relative to fruit length, or reticulately veined; tuberculate, or not tuberculate; with solid tubercles on each valve; tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; nearly glossy; opaque; monochrome; brown; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; septate, or nonseptate; with septa thicker than paper, firm; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–6; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; thick; straight, or curved. Aril absent.

Seed: 2–9 mm long; 1.5–4 mm wide; 1.2–2 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; circular to elliptic to oblong; compressed to flattened; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes same color as testa; 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; colored; monochrome; pinkish to reddish brown, or tan; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe visible; from hilum to near base of seed and terminating (from hilum to nearly base of seed); not bifurcating; darker than testa; brown; flush. Hilum present; fully concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; without faboid split; larger than punctiform; 1–1.3 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; between cotyledon and radicle lobe; flush; within halo; halo darker than testa. Lens not discernible. Endosperm present; trace; 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; split over radicle; with lobes; with lobes not touching; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; reddish 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; linear; oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule well developed; glabrous.

Distribution

Tropical and South Africa, Madagascar, southern Asia to Philippines, and Fiji.

Old World; tropical and South Africa, Madagascar, Southwest Asia, India, Indochina, China, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and Fiji (Asia (southern) and Indonesia (to Philippines)).

Generic Notes

Gillett (1966) described the 17 species of Ormocarpum from southwestern Asia and Africa (excluding Madagascar) and presented some fruit and seed data and some fruit illustrations.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Aeschynomeneae

Rudd (1981a) recognized four subtribes of Aeschynomeneae: Ormocarpinae V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.01–3.14.08), Aeschynomeninae (genera 3.14.09–3.14.16), Discolobinae (A.E. Burkart) V.E. Rudd (genus 3.14.17: Discolobium), Poiretiinae (A.E. Burkart) V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.18–3.14.21), and Stylosanthinae (G. Bentham) V.E. Rudd (genera 3.14.22–13.4.26). Tribal and subtribal placement of Diphysa is based on Lavin (1987; Polhill, 1994a, 1994b), and not on Polhill and Sousa (1981), who placed Diphysa in Robinieae. Bailey et al. (1997), using the chloroplast rpl2 intron and ORF184, suggested that Brya (11.01), Cranocarpus (11.02), Phylacium (11.22), and Neocollettia (11.26) are not members of Desmodieae (11) and that they probably belong in Aeschynomeneae.