The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae
| The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae | |
Habit and leaf form. Trees (5–13 m); without tendrils; unarmed. Leaves compound; pinnate; paripinnate. Leaflets few per leaf (2–3 jugate); opposite or sub-opposite; without a continuous marginal nerve; petiolulate; with markedly twisted petiolules. Stipules present, persistent and conspicuous (thick); neither leafy nor spinescent; connate (intrapetiolar). Stipels absent.
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers hermaphrodite; not pentamerous throughout; departing from pentamery in the calyx; in panicles; not distichous. Inflorescences axillary and terminal. Bracts absent at anthesis (caducous, round, concave). Bracteoles present (round, concave, pedicellate); small, not enclosing the flower buds; absent at anthesis; not valvate; free. Hypanthium present. Length of floral tube relative to total hypanthium plus calyx length, about 0.5. Calyx covering the rest of the flower in bud; more or less regular; 4 partite; imbricate. Corolla present; actinomorphic to slightly zygomorphic; polypetalous; without any greatly reduced petals. Petals 5; imbricate; imbricate-ascending. Clawed petals present (short claws). Androecium of ten parts; with united members (short basal tube); members all more or less equal in length; without staminodia. Fertile stamens 10. Anthers attached well above base of connective (versatile). Dehiscence longitudinal. Ovary stipitate; excentric with adnate stipe (stalk partly free). Stigma not peltate (capitate, style filamentous and exserted). Ovules numerous (?).
Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit a two-valved pod (flattened, glabrous); not becoming woody (exocarp thinly crustaceous); straight; with prominent, raised veins; with veins other than the longitudinal ones predominating (transverse and reticulate); not winged; without markedly twisting or enrolling valves. Seeds arillate (with a tiny, annular aril around the hilum); with a straight or slightly oblique radicle.
Transverse section of lamina. 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 not seen. 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 absent. Adaxial interveinal epidermal cell walls straight in optical section; not conspicuously pitted; medium-thick. Stomata adaxially very rare. Abaxial stomata predominantly paracytic (the subsidiaries often asymmetric). Abaxial epidermis not papillate. Abaxial interveinal epidermal cell walls straight, or gently undulating; not conspicuously pitted in optical section; staining normally with safranin; of medium thickness.
Pollen ultrastructure. Tectum irregularly bullate.
Cytology, geography, etc. 1 species. South and Central America. Brazil. Not widely cultivated.
Tribe. Detarieae.
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’.