The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae
The Genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae | |
Habit and leaf form. Trees; without tendrils; unarmed. Phyllotaxy distichous. Leaves compound; bifoliate; paripinnate. Venation neither palmate nor parallel nor fan-like. Leaflets few per leaf (two); opposite or sub-opposite; sessile to sub-sessile; with petiolules not noticeably twisted. Stipules present, persistent and conspicuous; neither leafy nor spinescent; connate. Stipels present (representing reduced leaflets?).
Inflorescence and floral morphology. Flowers hermaphrodite; not pentamerous throughout; departing from pentamery in the androecium; in panicles; not distichous. Inflorescences terminal. Bracteoles present; relatively large and enclosing the flower buds; persistent beyond anthesis; valvate. Hypanthium present (?). Calyx polysepalous; more or less regular; 5 partite. Corolla present; very zygomorphic (1 large petal with 2 suborbicular lobes); polypetalous; without any greatly reduced petals. Petals 5. Clawed petals present. Androecium of fewer than ten parts; with united members; members markedly unequal; with staminodia (6 reduced stamens). Fertile stamens 3. Anthers attached well above base of connective. Dehiscence longitudinal. Ovary stipitate; excentric with adnate stipe. Stigma not peltate (hoof-shaped; style pilose at base). Ovules few.
Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit a two-valved pod; becoming distinctly woody; with prominent, raised veins; with veins other than the longitudinal ones predominating; not winged; valves twisting and enrolling during dehiscence. Seeds not arillate; with a straight or slightly oblique radicle. Cotyledons not flat; epigeal.
Transverse section of lamina. Leaves with conspicuous phloem transfer cells in the minor veins. Druses absent from the mesophyll. Mesophyll secretory cavities absent. 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. 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; thin.
Pollen ultrastructure. Tectum striate; pole to pole striate. Length of colpi greater than one half pole to pole distance.
Cytology, geography, etc. 1 species. Tropical Africa. Not widely cultivated.
Tribe. Detarieae (Amherstieae of Cowan and Polhill 1981).
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: 22nd March 2009. http://delta-intkey.com’.