Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 1.1.19.
Tribe: Caesalpinieae.
Group: Peltophorum.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 2 in genus.
Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 6–15 cm long; 1–1.6 cm wide; 0.2–0.5 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with deciduous calyx; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; straight; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; fusiform to oblong; not inflated; compressed; without beak; long long tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; long tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible; margin constricted, or not constricted (not constricted in 1-seeded fruits); margin constricted along both margins, or slightly constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin embellished; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present; wing(s) 4; wing(s) 0.1–2 mm wide; wing(s) sutural; wing(s) on both sutures; substipitate; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along both sutures; passive. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome to multicolored; bichrome; brownish to reddish yellow ((wings darker colored)); with surface texture uniform; glabrous; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; longitudinally veined relative to fruit length and reticulately veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating (but cracking along veins); without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; with fibers; without reniform canals; fibrous throughout; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; monochrome; tan; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; entire. Seed(s) 1–4; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 3–6 mm long; of 1 length only; thick; straight. Aril absent.
Seed: 10–14 mm long; 6.5–7 mm wide; 4–5 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; oblong; compressed; with surface smooth; without visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; without 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; glossy; not modified by a bloom; colored; bichrome; yellowish brown; glabrous; smooth; osseous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines present; reticulate. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe visible (near lens). Hilum present; visible; without faboid split; punctiform; subapical to radicle tip; recessed; not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens discernible; 0.2 mm long; with margins curved; elliptic; not in groove of raphe; mounded; slight same color as testa; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thick; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; 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 (lower one-third); with lobes; with lobes touching (auriculate); without basal groin formed by lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis straight; parallel to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; centered between cotyledons. Plumule well developed; glabrous.
Based on I.J. Eifert's annotation of the type, C. arborea Rose is regarded as a synonym of C. multifida. Thus only two species are in the genus, not three as indicated by Polhill and Vidal (1981). Polhill (1994b0) placed this genus in group Peltophorum.