The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae
| The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae | |
Habit and leaf form. Trees; without tendrils; unarmed. Leaves compound (no articulation); pinnate; imparipinnate. Venation neither palmate nor parallel nor fan-like. Leaflets many per leaf (rare), or few per leaf (5–9(-11)); opposite or sub-opposite; petiolulate. Stipules absent or early caducous or very inconspicuous; neither leafy nor spinescent; not connate. Stipels absent.
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers hermaphrodite; pentamerous; coloured; in panicles (few flowered). Inflorescences axillary; of cymose units. Bracts absent at anthesis. Bracteoles present; small, not enclosing the flower buds; absent at anthesis; not valvate. Hypanthium absent. Calyx polysepalous; covering the rest of the flower in bud; more or less regular; 5 partite (naviculate); imbricate. Corolla present; very zygomorphic (with a large posterior petal); polypetalous; without any greatly reduced petals. Petals yellow; 5; imbricate; imbricate-descending (papilionaceous) with the posterior petal (vexillum) outside. Clawed petals present (all). Disk present and conspicuous. Androecium of ten parts; with united members (the adaxial 5 forming a deciduous synandrium, with penicillate anthers; the abaxial 5 free, glabrous); members all more or less equal in length; without staminodia. Fertile stamens 10. Anthers attached at base of connective. Dehiscence via pores or short slits. Ovary sessile or subsessile; free. Stigma not peltate (the style curved, attenuate). Ovules few.
Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit indehiscent (suborbicular, transversely crumpled-plicate); becoming distinctly woody; not drupaceous (i.e., dry); without prominent raised veins; not winged (but keeled by the rigid sutures).
Cytology, geography, etc. 1 species. Madagascar. Madagascar. Not 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’.