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; paripinnate. Leaflets few per leaf; opposite or sub-opposite; petiolulate. Stipules absent or early caducous or very inconspicuous; neither leafy nor spinescent. Stipels absent.
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers small; unisexual; not pentamerous throughout; departing from pentamery in the corolla and in the androecium; in simple racemes, or in fascicled inflorescences; not distichous. Inflorescences lateral on the year- old branches; of racemose units. Bracts absent at anthesis (caducous, minute). Bracteoles present; small, not enclosing the flower buds (minute); persistent beyond anthesis. Calyx polysepalous; 5 partite (small); imbricate. Corolla absent. Disk present and conspicuous. Androecium of fewer than ten parts; members all free of one another; members all more or less equal in length; with staminodia. Fertile stamens 5. Anthers attached well above base of connective. Dehiscence longitudinal. Ovary stipitate. Stigma peltate. Ovules numerous.
Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit indehiscent (edible); not becoming woody; curved; internally septate; not winged. Seeds endospermic; with a straight or slightly oblique radicle; amyloid-negative; with galactomannan. Cotyledons of Type 2; epigeal.
Transverse section of lamina. Leaves without conspicuous phloem transfer cells in the minor veins.
Wood anatomy. Wood with septate fibres, or without septate fibres; not storied.
Pollen ultrastructure. Tectum punctate; smooth punctate, or puncticulate. Length of colpi greater than one half pole to pole distance (tetracolporate).
Cytology, geography, etc. Basic chromosome number, x = 12. 2n = 24. 2 species. Mediterranean, Arabia, northeast Africa. Widely cultivated.
Tribe. Cassieae.
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’.