The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae
| The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae | |
Habit and leaf form. Trees, or shrubs (with stellate indumentum); without tendrils; unarmed. Without specialized ‘short shoots’. Phyllotaxy spiral. Leaves compound; pinnate; paripinnate; with adaxially grooved rachides (finely so). Leaflets petiolulate; with petiolules not noticeably twisted. Stipels absent.
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers large (rather); hermaphrodite; pentamerous; in simple racemes and in panicles; not distichous. Inflorescences terminal; of racemose units. Bracts absent at anthesis. Bracteoles absent at anthesis. Hypanthium present. Length of floral tube relative to total hypanthium plus calyx length, about 0.25. Calyx polysepalous; not covering the rest of the flower in bud; markedly zygomorphic; 5 partite; imbricate. Corolla present; slightly zygomorphic; polypetalous; without any greatly reduced petals. Petals 5; imbricate; imbricate-ascending. Androecium of ten parts; members all free of one another; without staminodia. Fertile stamens 10 (the filaments lanate). Anthers attached well above base of connective. Dehiscence introrse. Ovary sessile or subsessile; free. Ovules few.
Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit a two-valved pod; becoming distinctly woody; straight; with veins other than the longitudinal ones predominating; not winged; without markedly twisting or enrolling valves. Seeds non-endospermic; with a straight or slightly oblique radicle.
Transverse section of lamina. Leaves without conspicuous phloem transfer cells in the minor veins. Druses absent from the mesophyll. Mesophyll secretory cavities absent. Adaxial hypodermis absent. Leaf girders common (the veins transcurrent). 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, or 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; conspicuously pitted; of medium thickness. 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.
Pollen ultrastructure. Tectum reticulate; finely to moderately regularly reticulate. Length of colpi greater than one half pole to pole distance (with margocolpus-like zones). Foot layer of pollen wall smooth, or with obvious projections.
Cytology, geography, etc. 6 species. South and Central America. Brazil, Paraguay. 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’.