Periandra

Taxonomy

Periandra C.F.P. von Martius ex G. Bentham Commentat. Legum. Gener. 56. Jun 1837.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.15.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Clitoriinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 6 studied; 6 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 9–18 cm long; 0.4–0.8 cm wide; 0.2–0.3 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide to 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; straight to curved (slightly); not plicate; not twisted; symmetrical; linear; not inflated; flattened; without beak to with beak; straight; with papery fragile beak up to 1 cm long, or solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; tapered at apex; aligned 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, or invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with thickened sutural areas; wing(s) absent; substipitate; with the stipe 0.5–1 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; monochrome; brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence golden; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; smooth; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; with cracks, or without cracks; cracking oblique to fruit length; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick; surface not veined; 2-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; with solid layer over solid layer; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; orangish brown, or white; smooth and cracked; without adhering pieces of testa; subseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; exfoliating in part; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp and separating from mesocarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 4–11; length parallel with fruit length, or oblique to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–0.7 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; triangular. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril, or tongue-aril, or 2-lipped rim-aril; entire; covering less than 1/2 of seed; without tongue (or flap) on lips of 2-lipped rim-aril, or with tongues (or flap) on lips of 2-lipped rim-aril; with 1 tongue or flap on 1 lip of 2-lipped rim-aril; tan.

Seed: 6.6–8.1 mm long; 3.5–5 mm wide; 1.8–3.3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; elliptic, or reniform; terete, or 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, or partially adhering to endocarp; free from endocarp; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or mottled; with infrequent mottles; brown; with brown overlay (darker); glabrous; smooth, or not smooth; with recessed features; pitted with small separate pits; coriaceous. 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 lighter colored than the rest of the hilum and therefore conspicuous; larger than punctiform; 1.8–2.8 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; flush; within rim; rim color darker than testa. Lens discernible; 0.1–1.5 mm long; with margins straight, or curved; linear; elliptic; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.1–0.7 mm from hilum; recessed, or flush; dissimilar color from testa; lighter than testa, or darker than testa; brown; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire 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; notched at radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed, or right angled; oblique to length of seed, or perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip curved; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon length, or oblique to cotyledons; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule moderately developed to well developed; glabrous.

Distribution

Santo Domingo (1 sp.) and Brazil (5 spp.).

New World; West Indies and South America; Brazil.

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.