Sylvichadsia

Taxonomy

Sylvichadsia D.J. Du Puy & J.-N. Labat Adansonia ser. 3. 20: 165. 29 Jun 1998.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.7.
Tribe: Millettieae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 0 studied; 4 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legumelegume:
usually dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a single carpel that opens along two longitudinal sutures
; unilocular; 20–24 cm long; 1.5–2.2(–3) cm wide; 2–9 times longer than wide, or more than 9 times longer than wide; with persistent calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; slightly curved; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; obliquely oblanceolate; with 1 straight and 1 curved suture; widest near apex; not inflated; flattened; with beak; straight; with 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; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin plain; wing(s) absent; stipitate; with the stipe 40 mm long; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; active; with valves twisting. Replum invisible. Epicarp monochrome; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs appressed; with 1 type of pubescence; with pubescence reddish brown (with rust-colored hairs); with simple hairs; without spines; smooth (presumed); not veined; not tuberculate; exfoliating in part; without cracks.

Distribution

Madagascar.

Old World; Madagascar.

Generic Notes

Neither fruits nor seeds were available for study. Data was extracted from the original descriptions of the genus and its species (Labat and Du Puy, 1998) and The Leguminosae of Madagascar (Du Puy et al., 2002). They did not find seeds, and only saw fruit of S. grandifolia (R. Viguier) D.J. Du Puy & J.-N. Labat.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Millettieae

Geesink (1981) treated this tribe, as others before him, under the tribal name Tephroseae, but we now know that its correct name is Millettieae. Recent tribal studies (Geesink, 1981, 1984; Polhill, 1994a, 1994b) have arranged the genera in alphabetical order without phylogenetic numbers. Geesink (1984) monographed tribe Millettieae, and presented descriptive notes about fruits and seeds and in situ fruit and seed drawings. However, we are not entirely following Geesink (1984) for generic parameters because he either questioned the status of many of his new genera or did not make the necessary species transfers. The few new genera which he clearly recognized are being accepted. Lavin et al. (1998) developed a preliminary infratribal classification of six informal groups using phytochrome nucleotides: Millettia group, Lonchocarpus group, Derris group, Tephrosia group, "primitive" group, and Phaseoleae group. Lavin (1987) transferred Sphinctospermum to Millettieae. Lavin and Doyle (1991) carried out cladistic analyses integrating morphological and chloroplast DNA data, and concluded that it is a member of Robineae where we have placed it (now 8.12).