Cheniella gen. nov. (Leguminosae: Cercidoideae) from southern China, Indochina and Malesia
- For much of the last thirty years, the caesalpinioid genus Bauhinia has been recognised by numerous authors as a broadly circumscribed, ecologically, morphologically and palynologically diverse pantropical taxon, comprising several subgenera. One of these, Bauhinia subg. Phanera has recently been reinstated at generic rank based on a synthesis of morphological and molecular data. Nevertheless, there remains considerable diversity within Phanera. Following a review of palynological and molecular studies of Phanera in conjunction with a careful re-examination of the morphological heterogeneity within the genus, we have found strong evidence that the species of Phanera subsect. Corymbosae are a natural group that warrant generic status. We describe here the genus Cheniella R.Clark & Mackinder gen. nov. to accommodate them. It comprises 10 species and 3 subspecies, one newly described here. Generic characters include leaves that are simple and emarginate or bilobed; flowers with elongate hypanthia which are as long as or much longer than the sepals; pods that are glabrous, compressed, oblong, indehiscent or tardily dehiscent; and with numerous seeds, the seeds bearing an unusually long funicle extending most of the way around their circumference. A further distinctive floral character was found to be a fleshy disc on which the staminodes are mounted. An analysis carried out for this study reveals Cheniella to be characterised by a pollen type that is unique to the genus and previously unknown in the Leguminosae. Species diversity is richest in southern China, the full distribution extending westward to India and south- and eastward through Indochina into Malesia.
Author: | Ruth P. Clark, Barbara A. Mackinder, Hannah Banks |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-462098 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2017.360 |
ISSN: | 2118-9773 |
Parent Title (English): | European journal of taxonomy : 360 |
Series (Serial Number): | European journal of taxonomy : EJT (360) |
Publisher: | Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle |
Place of publication: | Paris |
Document Type: | Part of Periodical |
Language: | English |
Year of Completion: | 2017 |
Year of first Publication: | 2017 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2018/04/23 |
Tag: | Bauhinia; Caesalpinioideae; Cercideae; Fabaceae; Phanera; pollen; staminodes |
Page Number: | 37 |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 590 Tiere (Zoologie) |
Sammlungen: | Sammlung Biologie / Sondersammelgebiets-Volltexte |
Licence (German): | Creative Commons - Namensnennung 3.0 |