Pseudoeriosema

Taxonomy

Pseudoeriosema L.L. Hauman Bull. Jard. Bot. État. 25: 96. Mar 1955.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.12.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Ophrestiinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 2 studied; 6 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legumelegume:
usually dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a single carpel that opens along two longitudinal sutures
; unilocular; 1.5–2 cm long; 0.6–0.7 cm wide; 0.4 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; not plicate; not twisted; symmetrical to asymmetrical (slightly); elliptic, or linear; with both sutures parallelly curved, or both sutures nearly straight; not inflated; flattened; without beak, or with beak (short); declined; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; tapered at apex, or short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base to rounded at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; 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; tan to brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; long sericeous; with pubescence golden to brown; 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; papillose; 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, or bichrome; tan to brown, or tan and brown; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; subseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–2; length parallel with fruit length to oblique to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–1 mm long; of 1 length only; flattened; triangular. Aril present; dry; when dry hippocrepiform rim-aril; entire; 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: 4–8 mm long; 3–5 mm wide; 2–3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform to elliptic; 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; slightly glossy; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; reddish brown to brown; 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; 1.5–2.5 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length, or marginal according to radicle tip; flush to recessed; not within corona, halo, or rim, or within halo; halo darker than testa. Lens discernible; 0.5–1 mm long; 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; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; 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; split over radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; white to yellow; 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

Tropical Africa.

Old World; Africa.

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.