Vavilovia

Taxonomy

Vavilovia A.A. Fedorov Trudy Biol. Inst. Arm. Fil. Akad. Nauk SSSR 1: 45. 1939; 9(83): 91. 1957 non vidi. 1939.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.19.05.
Tribe: Fabeae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 1 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legumelegume:
usually dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a single carpel that opens along two longitudinal sutures
; unilocular; 1.5–3.5 cm long; 0.8–0.9 cm wide; 0.8–0.9 cm thick (assumed); 2–9 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; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; linear; with both sutures nearly straight; not inflated; terete; without beak; rounded at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered 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 enrolling. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; reddish brown, or tan; with surface texture uniform; glabrous; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thin; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; reddish brown, or tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 2–5; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; thick; straight. Aril absent.

Seed: 4–5 mm long; 3.3–4 mm wide; 1.7–2.7 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; oblong; compressed; without visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; 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, or mottled; with frequent mottles; reddish brown; with black overlay; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible, or partially concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split lighter colored than the rest of the hilum and therefore conspicuous; larger than punctiform; 0.7 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; marginal according to radicle tip; flush; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens faintly discernible, or not discernible; with margins curved; circular; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.7 mm from hilum; mounded; dissimilar color from testa; darker than testa; black; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm absent. 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; entire over radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; brown; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis straight; almost perpendicular to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; triangular; lobe tip straight; straight with embryonic axis; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Russia, Georgia, and Armenia.

Old World; Mediterranean to Russia to Southwest Asia (Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Russia, Georgia, and Armenia).

Generic Notes

Vavilovia formosa has been placed in Orobus C. Linnaeus (now Lathyrus, 19.02) and a segregate genus, Alophotropis (H.F. Jaubert & É. Spach) A.A. Grossheim, now a synonym of Vavilovia. We were unable to see an intact fruit, and our studied seeds were flattened during pressing.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Fabeae

This tribe has traditionally been called Vicieae. Article 19.4 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 1994) stated, "The name of any subdivision of a family that includes the type of the adopted, legitimate name of the family to which it is assigned is to be based on the generic name equivalent to the type." Faba P. Miller is the type of Fabaceae, and is synonymous with Vicia. Therefore because Faba is included in this tribe, the tribe must be called Fabeae. Endo and Ohashi (1997) have proposed, after a cladistic analysis using morphological characters, including internal seed morphology, that Cicereae (20) and Fabeae (Vicieae) formed a monophyetic group whose sister group is Trifolieae (21). Butler (2002) examined the exterior micromorpholgical characters of Fabeae fruits. She concluded that the genera are so variable that they can not be identified using these characters and that wild forms also can not be separated domesticated forms using exterior micromorpholgical characters. Therefore, domestication has not affected the exterior micromorpholgical characters of Fabeae fruits.