Ornithopus

Taxonomy

Ornithopus C. Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 743. 1 Mai 1753.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.13.15.
Tribe: Loteae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 6 studied; 6 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A loment (or a loment segment); 1.5–5 cm long; 0.1–0.23 cm wide; 0.08–0.13 cm thick; more than 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; curved to 0.5-coiled; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; linear, or falcate; with both sutures parallelly curved; not inflated; compressed; with beak; hooked; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; long tapered at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base; aligned 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, or not constricted; margin slightly constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Loment indehiscent; segments (articles) inconspicuous, or conspicuous; segments (articles) 4–11 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) circular, or oblong, or rectangular. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown, or tan; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence brown; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth, or not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; 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; solid; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; septate; with septa thicker than paper, firm; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 4–12; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; thick; straight. Aril absent.

Seed: 1.5–3 mm long; 1–2 mm wide; 0.7–1.1 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular (except hilum); symmetrical (except hilum); circular, or oblong, or ovate, or reniform; compressed; 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; orange (reddish), or red (dish), or yellow (pale); glabrous; smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; punctiform; marginal according to radicle tip; flush; within halo; halo darker than testa. Lens discernible, or not discernible; with margins curved; circular (sub); not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; mounded; dissimilar color from testa; darker than testa; black; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thick, or 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; not concealing radicle; entire over radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; yellow; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed; parallel to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon length; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons to 1/2 to nearly length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary, or moderately developed; glabrous.

Distribution

5 species in Europe, Mediterranean region, Western Asia and Atlantic Islands; O. micranthus (G. Bentham) J. Arechaveleta y Bolpardo in southern South America.

New World and Old World; southern South America (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina); Argentina and Brazil; Europe, Mediterranean, Russia, and Africa (Africa (north and adjacent Atlantic islands)).

Generic Notes

Alsina (1988) described the morphology and anatomy of seeds of four species and illustrated their testa with micrographs at X 320. The monotypic genus Antopetitia (13.16) differs by having dehiscent fruit segments and a persistent dorsal suture (Verdcourt, 1974).

Tribal Notes

Tribe Loteae

In 1981, Polhill (1981k) accepted much broader generic circumscriptions in tribe Loteae, and only accepted four genera in the tribe: Cytisopsis, Anthyllis (13.02), Hymenocarpus (13.04), and Lotus (13.07). In his most recent classification of Fabaceae (Polhill, 1994a, 1994b), he combined tribes Loteae and Coronilleae and accepted six segregate genera in Loteae, s.s.: Tripodion (13.03), Dorycnopsis (13.05), Dorycnium (13.06), Podolotus J.F. Royle (13.08), Pseudolotus K.H. Rechinger (13.09), and Vermifrux (13.10).