legume
A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
, tribe Wisterieae. Its only species is ''Endosamara racemosa'', a
liana
A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...
found from South India through Indo-China to the Philippines.
Description
''Endosamara racemosa'' is a robust twining woody vine. The young stems are green and covered with soft hairs (pubescent); the mature stems are pale brown and hairless. The leaves are evergreen and generally have 6–12 paired leaflets plus a terminal leaflet. The leaflets are long by wide. The robust inflorescence is a many-flowered terminal
panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
, long. The individual flowers are long and have the general shape of members of the subfamily Faboideae. The standard
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
is long by wide. The inner surface is pink or pinkish purple, rarely white, with a dark greenish yellow nectar guide. The wing petals are slightly longer than the keel at long by wide, with short basal claws. The keel petals are long by wide, united into a cup. Nine of the
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s are fused together, the other is free; all curve upwards at the apex. The flattened seed pods are long by wide, black when dry, and have 4–5 seeds. A unique feature of the genus ''Endosamara'' within the tribe Wisterieae is that the pods split into one-seeded segments before releasing the seeds. Each seed is covered in a layer of endocarp which extends into a papery wing, long and wide.
Taxonomy
''Endosamara racemosa'' was first described by William Roxburgh in 1832 in the genus '' Robinia''. It was later placed in a number of other genera, including ''
Millettia
''Millettia'' is a genus of legume in the family Fabaceae. It consists of about 150 species, which are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The genus was formerly known by the name ''Pongamia'', but that name was r ...
'' and '' Wisteria'', before in 1984 Robert Geesink established the new genus ''Endosamara'' for the species, based principally on the unique structure of the seeds, which have flat samara-like wings but are enclosed in endocarp.
''Endosamara'' is placed in the tribe Wisterieae, where it forms the earliest diverging
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
with the genera '' Sarcodum'' and '' Sigmoidala''. The structure of the seeds distinguishes ''Endosamara''.
Distribution
''Endosamara racemosa'' is found from South India to the Philippines, being native to Assam, Bangladesh, India, Laos,
Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...