Harpalyce

• Authority

  Arroyo, M. A. 1976. The systematics of the legume genus Harpalyce (Leguminosae: Lotoideae). Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 26 (4): 1-80.

• Family

  Fabaceae

• Scientific Name

  Harpalyce

• Description

  Genus Description - Evergreen or seasonally dimorphic, deciduous shrubs, subshrubs or small trees with alternate, imparipinnate, petioled, stipulate leaves, the leaflets beneath and calyx on the outside, with more rarely the stems, petioles, peduncles and pedicels invested with multicellular, globose, conical, pateriform or lepidote peltate glands, attached superficially or somewhat embedded and anchored by a thin multicellular plate of nonglandular cells, or more rarely elevated on slender, multicellular, non-glandular stalks; stems terete or sulcate; leaflets opposite, or more rarely sub-opposite, entire or occasionally shallowly sinuate, petiolulate, stipellate, the stipels very small, mostly appressed to the rachis, or (in 1 sp.) laterally connate; rachis adaxially grooved, the interpetiolular regions invested with squaliform, glandular hairs. Inflorescence racemose, paniculate or subcorymbose; bracts and bracteoles small, caducous or persistent, the bracteoles inserted just beneath or 1 to several mm beneath the calyx; calyx 2-lipped, the upper 2 lobes and the lower 3 lobes wholly united into 2 entire lips, the vexillar lip acute, apiculate or cucullate, the carinal lip acute to apiculate, never cucullate. Flowers resupinate by the twisting of the pedicels; corolla papilionaceous, the petals either entirely membranaceous, entirely fleshy or with the blades membranaceous and the claws fleshy, orange-red, pinkish-white to dark purple, or white to greenish-white; vexillum clawed, variable in shape, the blade emarginate to deeply notched at the apex, the claw entire, sinuate or bearing triangular auricles toward the base; wings clawed, equal or smaller than the vexillum, strongly falcate, the blade variable in shape, the claw bearing an auricle on the vexillar side and the carinal side, the auricle on the vexillar side larger than the auricle on the carinal side, or bearing an auricle on the vexillar side only, with the carinal side of the claw entire to somewhat inwardly folded; keel petals strongly falcate, variable in shape, equal to greatly exceeding the vexillum, either connate from the claws upward except for the tips, connate only in the upper one third, with the tips excepted, or free, auricled on the vexillar side, when connate the keel helically contorted ca. 180°, or straight, when free, the petals individually slightly hehcally contorted; nectary when present a lobed disc surrounding the ovary, ca. 0.25-1 mm wide; stamens monodelphous, the vexillary stamen connate with the others for at least one half its length, but the staminal sheath adaxially cleft to the base, the filaments very unequal in length; staminal sheath entirely to almost entirely included in the keel; anthers alternately dimorphic, longitudinally dehiscent, retuse, obtuse, acute or apiculate at the apex, obtuse, retuse or auriculate at the base, the large anthers oblong or ovate-oblong, basifixed, the small anthers ovate, dorsifixed to subdorsifixed, the small anthers borne on longer filaments than the large anthers; pollen spherical to moderately oblate, tricolporate, the long axis 36-54 µ. Ovary sessile, oblong, oblong-linear, hnear or ovate, straight to somewhat curved, glabrous, containing several ovules; style glabrous, slender or stout, twisted like the keel, straight, or somewhat arcuate, when twisted slightly exserted from the keel, when straight, strongly exserted from the keel; stigma small, terminal and pencillate, or obliquely truncate and glabrous. Legume sessile, 2-valved, dehiscent, oblong to obovate-oblong, the valves mostly coriaceous, in 1 sp. woody, aseptate or septate, when septate the septa either composed of loosely organized spongiose tissue, or the spongiose tissue tightly compacted into thin, falsed elastic, dehiscent partitions. Seeds 1 to many, variable in shape, laterally compressed or round to quadrangular in cross-section, glabrous or rarely minutely pubescent, smooth, variable in shape, strophiolate, the funicle short; embryo with the radicle straight.

• Discussion

  HARPALYCE Mociiio & Sesse ex de Candolle, Prodr. 2: 523. 1825, non Harpalyce D. Don, Edinb. N e w Phil. Jour. 6: 308. 1829. Type species. Harpalyce formosa Mocifio & Sesse ex de Candolle, Prodr. 2: 523. 1825. Vernacular names. According to Roig (1963) the Cuban H cubensis is known locally as Cerrillo de Costa (small hill near the coast), probably in reference to the typical location of the plant. Balche-ceh fide Seler 3902 and Xul fide Enriquez 582 are names for H. arborescens on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.