Eysenhardtia

Taxonomy

Eysenhardtia K.S. Kunth Nom. cons. In Humboldt, Bonpland et Kunth, Nova Gen. Sp. 6: ed. fol. 382; ed. qu. 489. Sep 1824.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.6.02.
Tribe: Amorpheae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 10 studied; 11 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 0.5–2.1 cm long; 0.15–0.5 cm wide; 0.1 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; slightly curved to curved; not plicate; not twisted; asymmetrical; falcate, or elliptic, or linear; with both sutures parallelly curved; not inflated; flattened; without beak; short tapered at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; long tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base differing in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally invisible; margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin plain; wing(s) absent; nonstipitate; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome (except for glandular dots); brown (to greenish or reddish or pale to dark); with surface texture uniform; glabrous; glandular; with glandular dots (to elongated dots (nearly streaks) and conpicuous to faint because of size and color); limited to a portion of fruit; upper 2/3 glandular and lower 1/3 eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features, or recessed features; veined; faintly reticulately veined to irregularly veined (nearly reticulate); not tuberculate; inconspicuously punctate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp absent. Endocarp present; visible; glossy; opaque; monochrome; brown; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; nonseptate; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1(–2) (and may fill 1/2 to entire fruit); length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus filiform; straight. Aril absent.

Seed: 3.2–3.4 mm long; 1.6–1.7 mm wide; 0.9–1.1 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; oblong, or reniform, or falcate; compressed to flattened; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; without external groove between 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; monochrome; brown (olive to light or reddish), or olive, or tan; glabrous; smooth; chartaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim present. Raphe visible, or not visible (E. orthocarpa (A. Gray) S. Watson); from hilum through lens to base of seed and terminating; not bifurcating; darker than testa; black; raised. Hilum present; visible; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; punctiform; marginal according to radicle tip (near apex); flush; within rim; rim color of testa (difficult to find). Lens discernible, or not discernible (E. parvifolia T.S. Brandegee); with margins curved; elliptic; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.2 mm from hilum; mounded; similar color as testa; darker than testa (barely); black; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thin; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire 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 (almost exposed); split over radicle; with lobes; with lobes not touching; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed (to almost straight in E. parvifolia T.S. Brandegee); oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip curved; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary, or moderately developed; glabrous.

Distribution

Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Guatemala.

New World; southwestern United States to Mexico to Central America (Guatemala).

Generic Notes

The species count is based on Lang and Isely (1982), who recognized ca. ten species in their monograph, and not on Barneby (1981). The seed fills about two-thirds of the fruit.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Amorpheae

Traditionally this tribe has been called Amorpheae. Reveal (1997) reported that the name Daleeae was published before the name Amorpheae. Following the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 1994), the oldest name for a taxon must be used, so Reveal suggested that this tribe should called Daleeae. In 1999 Reveal (1999) reversed himself, so that the tribe remains the Amorpheae.