The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae
| The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae | |
Habit and leaf form. Trees; without tendrils; unarmed. Phyllotaxy spiral. Leaves compound; pinnate; imparipinnate; with adaxially grooved rachides. Leaflets opposite or sub-opposite; with petiolules not noticeably twisted. Stipules present, persistent and conspicuous; neither leafy nor spinescent. Stipels absent.
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers hermaphrodite; pentamerous; coloured; in panicles; not distichous. Inflorescences terminal; of racemose units. Bracts absent at anthesis. Bracteoles present; small, not enclosing the flower buds; absent at anthesis. Hypanthium present. Length of floral tube relative to total hypanthium plus calyx length, about 0.25. Calyx polysepalous; covering the rest of the flower in bud; 5 partite; imbricate. Corolla present; actinomorphic; polypetalous; without any greatly reduced petals. Petals yellow; 5; imbricate; imbricate-ascending. Androecium of ten parts; members all free of one another; without staminodia. Fertile stamens 10. Anthers attached well above base of connective. Dehiscence introrse. Ovary stipitate; free. Stigma not peltate (small). Ovules few.
Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit a follicle; becoming distinctly woody; curved; not winged; without markedly twisting or enrolling valves. Seeds endospermic; not arillate (pale red, shiny); with a straight or slightly oblique radicle; amyloid-negative.
Transverse section of lamina. Leaves without conspicuous phloem transfer cells in the minor veins. Druses absent from the mesophyll. Mesophyll secretory cavities (gland-dots) common; without a lining of epithelium. Adaxial hypodermis absent. Leaf girders absent. Laminae dorsiventral. Mesophyll without unaligned fibres or sclereids. Minor veins mainly with abundant accompanying fibres.
Leaf lamina epidermes. Epidermal crystals not seen either adaxially or abaxially. Simple unbranched hairs common; smooth. Compound or branched eglandular hairs present. Capitate glands not seen. Hooked hairs not seen. Cassieae-type leaf pseudo-glands not seen. Expanded and embedded hair-feet absent. Adaxial interveinal epidermal cell walls straight in optical section; not conspicuously pitted; medium-thick. Stomata adaxially very rare. Abaxial stomata predominantly paracytic. Abaxial epidermis not papillate. Abaxial interveinal epidermal cell walls straight, or gently undulating; not conspicuously pitted in optical section; staining normally with safranin; thin.
Wood anatomy. Wood with septate fibres; not storied.
Pollen ultrastructure. Tectum punctate; smooth punctate, or puncticulate. Length of colpi greater than one half pole to pole distance (without a margocolpus).
Cytology, geography, etc. 1 species. Brazil. Not widely cultivated.
Tribe. Caesalpinieae.
The interactive key provides access to the character list, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, and summaries of attributes within groups of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1993 onwards. The genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae: descriptions, identification, and information retrieval. In English and French; French translation by E. Chenin. Version: 19th October 2005. http://delta-intkey.com’.