Sphaerophysa

Taxonomy

Sphaerophysa A.P. de Candolle Prodr. 2: 270. Nov (med.) 1825.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.16.07.
Tribe: Galegeae.
Subtribe: Coluteinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 2 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legumelegume:
usually dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a single carpel that opens along two longitudinal sutures
; unilocular; 1.3–2.4 cm long; 0.9–2 cm wide; 0.5–1.2 cm thick; length less than twice as long as width; with persistent androecial sheath, or 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; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; oblong; with both sutures nearly straight; inflated; terete; with beak (fragile), or without beak; straight; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; rounded at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; rounded at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; membranous (but firm); seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin with sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; stipitate, or substipitate; with the stipe 0.1–0.6 mm long; indehiscent, or with all layers dehiscing (scarcely). Dehiscence of valves passive. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; tan; with surface texture uniform; glabrous; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined and transversely veined relative to fruit length; not tuberculate; wrinkled; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp absent. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; spongy; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) at least 40; length oblique to fruit length, or transverse to fruit length; overlapping, or touching; in 2 or more series. Funiculus 1–2 mm long; of 1 length only; filiform (more so than thick); curved, straight, and hooked. Aril present; dry; when dry rim-aril; entire; white.

Seed: 2–2.5 mm long; 2–2.5 mm wide; 1–1.5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform, or mitaform; compressed; with surface smooth; 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; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; brown to greenish or reddish brown, or tan (greenish), or green; 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; between cotyledon and radicle lobe; flush; within halo; halo lighter than testa. Lens discernible; 0.5 mm long; with margins curved; elliptic; not in groove of raphe; confluent with hilum; mounded; similar color as testa; darker than testa; greenish brown; within halo; halo color lighter than testa. Endosperm present; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; adnate to embryo. 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; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip straight; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon length; centered between cotyledons; 1/2 to nearly length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Turkey, Syria, Caucasus, Siberia, central Asia, northern Mongolia, and northern China; introduced in United States.

Old World; Mediterranean to Russia to China to Mongolia (Russia (Caucasus to Siberia) to Asia (Turkey to northern Mongolia) to China (northern)).

Generic Notes

Polhill (1981h) noted that Sphaerophysa is scarcely distinct from Smirnowia (16.08). The fruit and seed of S. kotschyana P.E. Boissier are unknown.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Galegeae

Traditionally this tribe has been called Galegeae. Reveal (1997) reported that the name Astragaleae was published before the name Galegeae. Following the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 1994), the oldest name for a taxon must be used, so Reveal suggested that this tribe should be called Astragaleae. In 1999 Reveal (1999) reversed himself, so that this tribe remains the Galegeae. Welsh (1960) reported on the Galegeae of north-central United States. Sanderson and Liston (1995) carried out cladistic analyses of Galegeae genera using molecular data. They concluded that Galegeae is paraphyletic having given rise to tribes Cicereae (20), Hedysareae (18), Trifolieae (21), and Fabeae (19), and therefore requiring a re-evaluation of the circumscription of Galegeae. Heenan (1995, 1998c), utilizing unpublished nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS data, concluded that "Carmichaelia (17.05) is nested within (the) 'Astragalean clade' of Galegeae" and is the sister group of Clianthus. He therefore supported the proposal of Sanderson and Wojciehowski (1996) that Carmichaelieae should not be recognized at tribal level, but rather included in Galegeae.