Ramorinoa

Taxonomy

Ramorinoa C.L. Spegazzini Physis (Buenos Aires) 7: 262. 25 Mar 1924.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.4.11.
Tribe: Dalbergieae.
Group: Dalbergia.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 1 studied; 1 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legumelegume:
usually dry, dehiscent fruit derived from a single carpel that opens along two longitudinal sutures
; unilocular; 3.8–6.5 cm long; 2.5–3.5 cm wide; 1.5–2.5 cm thick; length less than twice as long as width; 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; symmetrical, or asymmetrical; oblong, or ovate; with both sutures parallelly curved, or both sutures nearly straight; not inflated; compressed, or terete; without beak; rounded at apex; oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit, or aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; rounded at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit, or oblique with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; ligneous; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers not torulose (at most faintly); margin not constricted; margin without sulcus; margin embellished, or plain; margin with wing(s); wing(s) present; wing(s) 1; wing(s) 0.1–0.5 mm wide; wing(s) sutural; wing(s) on both sutures; substipitate; indehiscent. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; brown; with surface texture uniform; pubescent and indurate; with hairs appressed; with 1 type of pubescence; with pubescence golden; with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; eglandular; without spines; not smooth; with elevated features; veined; reticulately veined; not tuberculate; not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thick; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; solid; ligneous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome; tan; smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; septate; with septa thicker than paper, firm; with septa eglandular; chartaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; with wing(s) extending into epicarp; entire. Seed(s) 1–4; length transverse to fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus of 1 length only; filiform; straight. Aril present, or absent; dry; when dry rim-aril; entire; gray.

Seed: 12–13 mm long; 9–10 mm wide; 6.5–7 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; symmetrical; ovate; compressed; with surface smooth; without visible radicle and cotyledon lobes, or with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; without external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes; without hilar sinus; with 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; brown (dark reddish); glabrous; not smooth, or smooth; with elevated features; wrinkled; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines absent. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe not visible. Hilum present; visible; without faboid split; punctiform; subapical to radicle tip; recessed (deeply); not within corona, halo, or rim. Lens not discernible. Endosperm present; thick; 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; split over radicle; with lobes; without basal groin formed by lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; white; 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; linear; lobe tip straight; straight with embryonic axis; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule moderately developed (barely), or rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

Western Argentina.

New World; South America (western Argentina); Argentina.

Generic Notes

Hunziker and Cocucci (1961) reported on the fruits and seeds of Ramorinoa girolae. As noted in Gunn (1991) dorsoventrally compressed seeds are rare in the Fabaceae. Ramorinoa is one of those rare genera as are the caesalpinioid genera Cassia (2.16) and Afzelia (4.20).

Tribal Notes

Tribe Dalbergieae

Lima (1989) analyzed the morphological characters of fruits, seeds and seedlings of the tribe and his characters and illustrations were used as a much appreciated source of accurate data. He also discussed the phylogeny of the tribe. Sousa and Sousa (1981) provided data to support their conclusion that the New World Lonchocarpinae be considered for tribal status: A segregate of the Dalbergieae. Hauman (1954) provided data on the Dalbergieae of Central Africa, and Lock (1989) listed the Dalbergieae for all of Africa. Thothathri (1986) reviewed the taxonomic status and systematic position of Asiatic Dalbergieae, and monographed tribe Dalbergieae for the Indian subcontinent (Thothathri, 1987). Morphological (Lima 1989) and molecular (Doyle et al. 1997) evidence has indicated that tribe Dalbergieae is polyphyletic.