Bolusafra

Taxonomy

Bolusafra C.E.O. Kuntze Rev. Gen. 1: 162. 5 Nov 1891.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.10.75.
Tribe: Phaseoleae.
Subtribe: Cajaninae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 1 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 2.2–2.7 cm long; 0.8–1.1 cm wide; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight to curved (slightly); not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; reniform, or irregular; with both sutures unequally curved; not inflated; compressed; without beak; short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; apical and down; active; with valves twisting. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 2 types of pubescence; sericeous; with pubescence golden; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs and glandular hairs; stiff; with hair bases swollen and plain, or swollen, or plain; glandular; with glandular hairs; without spines; smooth; not veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thin; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without reniform canals; solid; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 2–3; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; flattened; straight. Aril present; dry; when dry 2-lipped rim-aril; entire; covering less than 1/2 of seed; without tongue (or flap) on lips of 2-lipped rim-aril; brown to cream.

Seed: 4.1 mm long; 3.5 mm wide; 3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; elliptic to reniform; terete; with surface smooth; without visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; with shallow hilar sinus; without umbo on seed faces; without medial ridge on each face. Cuticle not exfoliating; not inflated; not wrinkled. Testa present; without pieces of adhering epicarp; not adhering to endocarp; free from endocarp; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome; reddish brown; glabrous; smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; fully concealed; concealed by aril; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; larger than punctiform; 1.5 mm long; with curved outline; elliptic; apical according to radicle tip but marginal according to seed length; raised; within rim; rim color darker than testa. Lens not discernible. Endosperm present; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; restricted to region of embryo; adnate to testa. Cotyledons smooth; both outer faces convex; both the same thickness; both more or less of equal length; not folded; margin entire 180 degrees from base of radicle; similar at apex; partially concealing radicle; notched at radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis right angled; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; triangular; lobe tip straight; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

South Africa.

Old World; Africa.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Phaseoleae

Bruneau et al. (1995) carried out cladistic analyses of tribe Phaseoleae using chloroplast DNA restriction site data. Their results indicated that the tribe is not monophyletic and that the tribal delimitations between Phaseoleae and Desmodieae (11) and between Phaseoleae and Millettieae (7) are problematic.