The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae
| The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae | |
Habit and leaf form. Shrubs; without tendrils; unarmed. Leaves compound; pinnate; paripinnate. Leaflets few per leaf (bijugate); opposite or sub-opposite; without a continuous marginal nerve; petiolulate; with markedly twisted petiolules. Stipules absent or early caducous or very inconspicuous (caducous); neither leafy nor spinescent; not connate. Stipels absent.
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers showy; hermaphrodite; not pentamerous throughout; departing from pentamery in the calyx; coloured; in simple racemes, or in panicles (ramuligerous, long-peduncled racemes); not distichous. Inflorescences of racemose units. Bracts absent at anthesis (absent). Bracteoles present; small, not enclosing the flower buds; persistent beyond anthesis; not valvate; connate (cupular). Hypanthium present. Length of floral tube relative to total hypanthium plus calyx length, about 0.5. Calyx more or less regular; 4 partite; imbricate; not Swartzieae type. Corolla present; very zygomorphic (3 large petals, 2 petalodia); polypetalous; including greatly reduced petals. Petals yellow and red; 5; imbricate. Clawed petals present. Androecium of fewer than ten parts (9); with united members (inequilateral tube); members markedly unequal; with staminodia (short). Fertile stamens 5. Anthers attached well above base of connective. Dehiscence longitudinal. Ovary stipitate; excentric with adnate stipe. Ovules numerous (7).
Transverse section of lamina. Druses absent from the mesophyll. Mesophyll secretory cavities absent. Adaxial hypodermis absent. Leaf girders common (the veins transcurrent), or 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; scabrid. No compound or branched eglandular hairs seen. Capitate glands not seen. Hooked hairs not seen. Cassieae-type leaf pseudo-glands not seen. Expanded and embedded hair-feet present; all medium to thick-walled; hair feet (at least some of them) complex with vertical walls. Basally bent hairs absent. Adaxial interveinal epidermal cell walls markedly sinuous in high-focus optical section; not conspicuously pitted; thin. Stomata adaxially very rare. Abaxial stomata predominantly paracytic. Abaxial epidermis not papillate. Abaxial interveinal epidermal cell walls markedly sinuous in high-focus optical section; conspicuously pitted in optical section; staining normally with safranin; medium-thick.
Cytology, geography, etc. 1 species. Colombia. Not widely cultivated.
Tribe. Detarieae.
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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’.