Vatairea

Taxonomy

Vatairea J.B.C.F. Aublet Hist. Pl. Guiane 755. Jun 1775.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.4.02.
Tribe: Dalbergieae.
Group: Andira.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 7 studied; 8 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legumelegume:
usually dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a single carpel that opens along two longitudinal sutures
, or a nutletnutlet:
small, hard, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit
; unilocular; 8.5–14 cm long; 2.5–8 cm wide; 0.6–3.5 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide, or length less than twice as long as width; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with deciduous calyx; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight, or curved (to slightly curved); not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; circular, or samaroid; with both sutures parallelly curved to both sutures unequally curved; not inflated; seed chamber compressed to flattened (wing); without beak; rounded at apex, or short tapered at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit, or aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; rounded at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; ligneous, or drupaceous (V. guianensis J.B.C.F. Aublet); seed chambers externally visible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished, or plain; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present, or absent; wing(s) 1; wing(s) 0.1–80 mm wide; wing(s) samaroid; wing(s) basal; wing(s) on 1 suture; nonstipitate; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown (brown to reddish); with surface texture uniform; glabrous; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; irregularly veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick (over seed chamber); surface uniformly veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; with fibers; without reniform canals; fibrous throughout; ligneous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; brown (dark reddish); without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; coriaceous; exfoliating (with fused testa); separating from mesocarp; with wing(s) extending into epicarp, or without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1; length oblique to fruit length. Funiculus straight. Aril absent.

Seed: 15–65 mm long; 10–45 mm wide; 0.4–8 mm thick; not overgrown, or overgrown, 1 seed filling entire fruit cavity (V. guianensis); not angular; asymmetrical, or symmetrical; oblong, or obovate, or circular; compressed; with surface ridged; 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 absent (testa fused to endocarp and endocarp falling with embryo or not). Endosperm absent. Cotyledons not smooth; wrinkled; 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; notched at radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; tan (greenish); inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed; oblique to length of seed, or parallel to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose, or linear; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width, or straight with embryonic axis (V. guianensis); centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Mexico and Central America to Brazil.

New World; Mexico to Central America to South America (to Brazil); Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and the Guianas.

Generic Notes

Lima (1982b) monographed the genus and recognized eight species, while Polhill (1981d) noted "ca. seven species." The testa is fused with the endocarp. Refer to Vataireopsis (4.04) for a discussion of the two genera.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Dalbergieae

Lima (1989) analyzed the morphological characters of fruits, seeds and seedlings of the tribe and his characters and illustrations were used as a much appreciated source of accurate data. He also discussed the phylogeny of the tribe. Sousa and Sousa (1981) provided data to support their conclusion that the New World Lonchocarpinae be considered for tribal status: A segregate of the Dalbergieae. Hauman (1954) provided data on the Dalbergieae of Central Africa, and Lock (1989) listed the Dalbergieae for all of Africa. Thothathri (1986) reviewed the taxonomic status and systematic position of Asiatic Dalbergieae, and monographed tribe Dalbergieae for the Indian subcontinent (Thothathri, 1987). Morphological (Lima 1989) and molecular (Doyle et al. 1997) evidence has indicated that tribe Dalbergieae is polyphyletic.