Craibia Harms & Dunn

Leguminosae, J. B. Gillett, R. M. Polhill & B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1971

Morphology General Habit

Slow-growing trees or shrubs

Morphology General Indumentum

Hairs nearly always golden-brown or black

Morphology Leaves

Leaves pulvinate, usually imparipinnate, with up to 11 alternate (or rarely opposite) leaflets, rarely, outside the Flora area, 1-foliolate; buds well developed, flattened, oval or round, with broad scales; stipellae present or absent; petiolules wrinkled; leaflets leathery, acuminate, glabrous or glabrescent above and often beneath, with a strongly developed nerve-network, the principal nerves breaking up before reaching the margin

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence a terminal or, less often, axillary raceme or a terminal panicle; bracts and bracteoles caducous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers usually fragrant

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx-lobes broad, much shorter than the tube, the upper pair united for at least half their length

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla white or minutely speckled and streaked with pink or purple, glabrous except, rarely, for a few weak hairs at the edge of the standard; claw of standard short, clearly distinct from the usually oblong lamina which is without folds or processes at the base; wings and keel with well-marked auricles

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Vexillary stamen essentially free, curving away from the others at the base and tip but sometimes slightly adhering in the middle; anthers all alike, without appendages

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disc absent

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary shortly stipitate, glabrous or ± tomentose with long golden-brown hairs; ovules 2–6 in the distal part of the ovary; style cylindrical; stigma small, terminal, punctate or capitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pod shortly stipitate, flat, tapering at the base, markedly asymmetric, the lower suture evenly convex, the upper ± concave below, convex distally, glabrous or glabrescent, shortly beaked, dehiscing into thin, stiff, woody, twisted valves

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds 1–3, ellipsoid, black or dark brown; hilum short, near one end of the seed, surrounded by a short white cupular aril which is produced at one side into a curved strap-like process clasping the funicle; cotyledons hypogeal.

Legumes of the World. Edited by G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. MacKinder & M. Lock. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (2005)

Note

Relationships among genera of Millettieae have been notoriously difficult to unravel based on traditional morphological evidence and this is exemplified by the alphabetical arrangement of genera in the tribal treatments of Geesink (1981; 1984) and Polhill (1994). Geesink (1981) recognised 44 genera and c. 870 species in tribe Millettieae (as ‘Tephrosieae’) while 43 genera were accounted for in Geesink (1984) and Polhill (1994). The genera recognised, however, varied considerably with only 33 genera in common to both treatments of Geesink, while the list of Polhill (1994) combined elements of Geesink (1981, 1984) with new data accumulated since then. Tephrosia has traditionally comprised some 400 species but this is re-estimated at c. 350 species here.

The traditional circumscription of the predominantly pantropical and subtropical tribe Millettieae is followed here (Fig. 45), with 45 genera and (904)–909–(914) species being recognised, (i.e. excluding the two genera and 11 species transferred to Brongniartieae, see Table 8), although the concept of what comprises Millettieae sens. strict. is changing rapidly based on evidence from molecular phylogenies. Sequence data for millettioid genera comes from the plastid rbcL gene (Doyle et al., 1997; 2000; Kajita et al., 2001; Hu & Chang, 2003), phytochrome nucleotide genes (Lavin et al., 1998), the plastid trnK-matK region (Hu et al., 2000) and the nuclear ITS region (Hu, 2000; Hu et al., 2002). Molecular data, together with reinterpreted evidence based on chemistry (Evans et al., 1985) and wood anatomy (Gasson et al., 2004), have been the basis for recognising a number of informal suprageneric groupings and for transferring Cyclolobium and Poecilanthe to tribe Brongniartieae (Table 8; Fig. 45).

 The most far-reaching result of the above molecular analyses was that a substantial part of the traditionally circumscribed tribe Phaseoleae is more closely allied to the core-Millettieae than to the Phaseoleae sens. lat. clade (see page 393). Circumscription of a revised tribe Millettieae is not possible at present until genera are more comprehensively sampled; however, a Millettioid sens. strict. group might be expected to include some genera in the basal millettioid and phaseoloid group, Phaseoleae subtribes Diocleinae, Ophrestiinae and in small part the Erythrininae, tribe Abreae and the core-Millettieae (Fig. 45). The basal millettioid and phaseoloid group comprises 17 genera (94 species) that may belong either in the Millettioids sens. strict. or Phaseoleae sens. lat., or to a clade sister to both these groups (e.g., Kajita et al., 2001). The core-Millettieae clade comprises c. 22 genera and c. 777 spp., with some additional generic segregates being necessary within the ‘canavanine group’ (Evans et al., 1985), to accommodate species of Millettia sens. lat. and Fordia sens. lat., which on the basis of molecular and chemical evidence are excluded from Millettia and Fordia sens. strict.

Relationships between the major groups of genera centred on Lonchocarpus, Derris, Millettia and Tephrosia remain obscure, and still reflect a geographical bias in segregating them, i.e. distributions are limited largely to the New World in the Lonchocarpus group, and the Old World in the other groups. The suggestion that the Andean South American genus Apurimacia might be sister to the largely Old World Tephrosia rather than to Lonchocarpus (e.g., Kajita et al., 2001) is possibly indicative of other Old World–New World sister groups yet to be found. Further molecular evidence will probably result in an overall reduction in the number of genera recognised, particularly in the Tephrosia and Lonchocarpus groups where various small or monotypic ‘one-organ’ genera may be better placed within larger genera. Ptycholobium, Requienia and Paratephrosia, for example, are difficult to distinguish from Tephrosia, but for the emphasis traditionally placed on their atypical pods.

Placed among the basal millettioid and phaseoloid group of genera (Hu et al., 2002)

Habit

Trees or shrubs

Ecology

Tropical rain forest to seasonally dry lowland and upland forest, woodland and wooded grassland, often on rocky slopes

Distribution

Africa (c. 4 spp. WC [Guineo-Congolian] region; 2 spp. Zambezian; 2 spp. Sudanian; 2 spp. Zanzibar-Inhambane to Afromontane or Tongaland-Pondoland)

Flora Zambesiaca Leguminosae subfamily Papillionoideae by B. Verdcourt

Morphology General Habit

Evergreen trees or shrubs. Evergreen trees or shrubs.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx with broad lobes much shorter than the tube, the upper pair united for at least half their length. Calyx with broad lobes much shorter than the tube, the upper pair united for at least half their length.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla white or speckled and streaked with pink or purple, glabrous or with few hairs; standard without folds or processes, with short distinct claw; wings and keel petals with well marked auricles. Corolla white or speckled and streaked with pink or purple, glabrous or with few hairs; standard without folds or processes, with short distinct claw; wings and keel petals with well marked auricles.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Upper stamen almost free, curving away from the sheath at the base and apex but sometimes lightly adhering in the middle; anthers uniform. Upper stamen almost free, curving away from the sheath at the base and apex but sometimes lightly adhering in the middle; anthers uniform.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk absent. Disk absent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary glabrous or pubescent, shortly stipitate, 2–6-ovuled; style cylindrical; stigma small, terminal, punctate or capitate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pod shortly stipitate, flat, tapering at the base, asymmetric, the lower margin evenly curved but the upper ± sinuous, ± concave towards the base and convex in upper half, glabrous or glabrescent, shortly beaked, dehiscing into thin but stiffly woody twisted valves, 1–4-seeded. Pod shortly stipitate, flat, tapering at the base, asymmetric, the lower margin evenly curved but the upper ± sinuous, ± concave towards the base and convex in upper half, glabrous or glabrescent, shortly beaked, dehiscing into thin but stiffly woody twisted valves, 1–4-seeded.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary glabrous or pubescent, shortly stipitate, 2–6-ovuled; style cylindrical; stigma small, terminal, punctate or capitate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds black or dark brown, ellipsoid; hilum short, near one end of seed, surrounded by a short white cupular rim aril which is produced on one side into a curved strap-shaped process clasping the funicle. Seeds black or dark brown, ellipsoid; hilum short, near one end of seed, surrounded by a short white cupular rim aril which is produced on one side into a curved strap-shaped process clasping the funicle.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves usually imparipinnate, the leaflets ± leathery, entire, nearly always alternate (1-foliolate in one West African species); stipels present or absent; pulvinus present; buds well developed, flattened, oval or round with broad scales. Leaves usually imparipinnate, the leaflets ± leathery, entire, nearly always alternate (1-foliolate in one West African species); stipels present or absent; pulvinus present; buds well developed, flattened, oval or round with broad scales.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers usually fragrant, in axillary or terminal racemes or terminal panicles, the pedicels inserted singly; bracts and bracteoles deciduous. Flowers usually fragrant, in axillary or terminal racemes or terminal panicles, the pedicels inserted singly; bracts and bracteoles deciduous.