The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae
| The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae | |
Habit and leaf form. Trees (to 30 m), or shrubs; without tendrils (wood and leaves foetid); unarmed. Leaves compound, or simple; pinnate, or when unifoliate; imparipinnate. Leaflets few per leaf (1–9, the leaflets entire); opposite or sub-opposite, or alternate; petiolulate; with petiolules not noticeably twisted. Stipules absent or early caducous or very inconspicuous, or present, persistent and conspicuous (to 5 mm long); neither leafy nor spinescent. Stipels absent.
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers hermaphrodite; not pentamerous throughout; departing from pentamery in the calyx, in the corolla, and in the androecium; white or green; in simple racemes, or in panicles (on older branches, rarely axillary). Inflorescences of racemose units. Bracts absent at anthesis, or persistent beyond anthesis (about 1 mm long). Bracteoles absent; absent at anthesis. Hypanthium absent. Calyx gamosepalous, or polysepalous (the segments free or remaining united below); covering the rest of the flower in bud; more or less regular, or markedly zygomorphic; 2–4 partite; not imbricate; Swartzieae type (closed before flowering, splitting more or less irregularly into valvate lobes or teeth). Corolla present, or absent; very zygomorphic, or when lacking; without any greatly reduced petals. Petals white; 1. Clawed petals present. Disk absent. Androecium of fewer than ten parts, or of ten parts, or of more than ten parts; members all free of one another; members all more or less equal in length; without staminodia. Fertile stamens 7–30. Anthers attached at base of connective (oblong, about equalling or shorter than the filaments, versatile). Dehiscence longitudinal. Ovary stipitate (gynophore to 2 mm); free. Stigma not peltate (truncate to capitellate). Ovules numerous (10–14, in two rows, but only the one nearest the style maturing).
Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit with prominent, raised veins; with veins other than the longitudinal ones predominating (reticulate); not winged. Seeds arillate, or not arillate; with an inflexed radicle.
Wood anatomy. Wood storied; without normal intercellular canals; without traumatic canals.
Pollen ultrastructure. Tectum punctate; rugulose punctate. Length of colpi greater than one half pole to pole distance.
Cytology, geography, etc. 7 species. South America. Not widely cultivated.
Tribe. Swartzieae (Papilionoideae).
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’.