A Synopsis of the Genus Hoffmannseggia (Leguminosae) (original) (raw)

Recent studies (Simpson and Miao, 1997; Lewis, 1998; Simpson et al., 2003) have shown that the genus Caesalpinia L. sensu Polhill ( 1994; Polhill and Vidal, 1981) is paraphyletic with respect to many genera in the Caesalpinia group. Among the genera now known to be distinct from Caesalpinia, although often confused with it in the past (Simpson et al., 2004), is Hoffmannseggia. Hoffmannseggia is considered h~re to consist of 22 species, amphitropically distributed with ten species restricted to North America, eleven species endemic to South America, and one widespread species, H. glauca (Ortega) Eifert, that occurs on both continents (Simpson et al., 2005). In 1979, Ulibarri revised the eight Argentine species of the genus, and in 1996 he provided a synopsis of both Caesalpinia and Hoffmannseggia for all of South America, but in many cases synonymies were incomplete. Recent molecular phylogenetic work (Simpson et al., 2004) has indicated that one species (Hoffmannseggi.a pumilio (Griseb.) B. B. Simpson) formerly treated as a Caesalpinia belongs in Hoffmannseggia. In 1999 and 2000, Simpson revised the North America species of the genus. In view of the fact that the taxonomy of the genus has now stabilized, it seems appropriate to provide a synopsis of the entire genus. Consequently, we provide here a key to all of the taxa in the genus we currently recognize, typification, distributional data, notes, comments on possible hybridizations, and a list that provides the disposition of names that have figured in the taxonomic history of Hoffmannseggia.

Extensive lists of specimens examined were given for the North American species by Simpson (1999) in an earlier issue of this journal. Consequently we provide here representative specimens for only the South American taxa.

HOFFMANNSEGGIA Cav., Icon 4:63. tab. 392. 1798. Orth. cons. ‘Hoffmanseggia.‘ TYPE: Hojfmannseggia falcaria Cav., nom illeg. = Hoffmannseggia glauca (Ortega) Eifert.

Hojfmannseggia can be distinguished from Zuccagnia Cav. and Balsamocarpon Clos, its two sister genera, and from Caesalpinia and Pomaria Cav., with which it is most commonly confused, by the characters in the following key.

1. Small shrubs or perennial herbs, sometimes woody at the base; plants without spines; sepals persisting in fruit or very tardily and jaggedly deciduous (H. microphylla and H. peninsularis); pedicels never jointed; leaves without resin-secreting glands in depressions; rachises, and sepals with simple trichomes, multicellular linear glandular trichomes, or both; fruits compressed longitudinally, straight, arcuate, lunate, or obtrullate in outline; valves glabrous or with simple trichomes and/or glandular trichomes, not resin-coated Hojfmannseggia

1. Trees, woody shrubs, suffrutescent perennial herbs, or vines; plants often with spines; sepals cauducous leaving a ring at the base of the fruit or, if persisting, leaves with resin-secreting glands in depressions on both leaf surfaces; pedicels jointed or not; rachises and sepals with simple trichomes or peltate glandular trichomes; fruits elongate (“bean-like”) compressed longitudinally, or cylindrical, or ovoid; valves glabrous or simply vestitured with non-glandular or glandular trichomes, sometimes with complex branching trichomes, or resin-covered (Balsamocarpon), or adorned with red-purple setae (Zuccagnia).

2. Fruits cylindrical, covered with yellow-brown resin when mature; plants extremely spiny; young leaves borne on long shoots, adult leaves on brachyblasts (short shoots) Balsamocarpon

2. Fruits flattened, variously pubescent or spiny, or ovoid with red-purple setae on the valves; plants spineless or with scattered spines: leaves borne on long shoots.

3. Leaves pinnate; fruits ovoid; valves with red-puqjle setae; both leaf surfaces dotted with sunken resinsecreting Glands Zuccagnia

3. Leaves bipinnate; fruits elongate, compressed longitudinally; valves variously vestitured, glabrous, or spiny; leaves variably vestitured but not resinous.

4. Small shrubs or suffrutescent perennial herbs; gynoecium and anthers nestled in an enlarged lowermost sepal; stigma lateral; fruits usually with black (when dry) punctate glandular trichomes, always with complex-branching trichomes Pomaria

4. Trees, vines, or shrubs; gynoecium and anthers usually decumbent but not nestled in the lowermost sepal; stigma terminal or subterminal; fruits variously vestitured, sometimes with black glandular punctate trichomes and occasionally with complex branching trichomes Caesalpinia s. l.

Hojfmannseggia thus consists of small, non-spiny perennial herbs or subshrubs. Compared to other members of the Caesalpinia group (Polhill, 1994), the flowers are relatively regular and lack the cucullate sepal found in many species of Caesalpinia. While Zuccagnia and Balsamocarf,on, both monotypic genera of southern South America, form a clade sister to Hojfmannseggia, morphologically they are very distinct. Zuccagnia is a large shrub growing in the Monte Desert of Argentina that has bright, shiny leaves dotted with sunken resin-secreting glands and fruits that appear as small (5 mm without the setae), flattened “balls” covered with relatively stiff red-purple se tae. Balsamocarpon is a small shrub of the deserts of coastal Chile that has mature leaves borne on short shoots and cylindrical fruits ca. 5 cm long completely encased in resin when mature.

While not the closest relatives of Hoffmannseggia, some species of Pomaria and Caesalpinia are morphologically quite similar to Hoffmannseggia species and historically caused confusion about generic boundaries. In particular, a small suffrutescent habit led to the various erroneous placements of species of Caesalpinia and Pomaria in Hoffmannseggia. The most conspicuous difference between Hoffmannseggia and these latter two genera is the presence (by persistence) of sepals in fruit. Only H. microphylla and H. peninsularis occasionally lack some or all of the sepals on mature fruits but in these cases, there is a jagged tear rather than the smooth ring left on species of Caesalpinia or Pomaria after shedding of the sepals.

A phylogenetic analysis of Hoffmannseggia (Simpson et al., 2003) showed that there are two major clades in the genus (Fig. 1). All of the species in one of these clades are suffrutescent whereas those in the other are herbaceous. The suffrutescent clade has as defining characters its subshrubby habit, flowers born on branching stems, and fruits that dehisce by the simple opening and spreading of the valves with the valves sometimes twisting around themselves after dehiscing. Within this clade, species in the subclade of H. pumilio, H. drummondii, and H. viscosa share the trait of glandular trichomes on the margins of the leaves. Its sister subclade of H. intricata, H. microphylla, and H. peninsularis has leaf margins that are glabrous or with only nonglandular trichomes.

In contrast most species of the herbaceous clade have essentially indehiscent fruits (Hoffmannseggia oxycarpa, H. arequipensis, and H. miranda being the exceptions). All members, except Hoffmannseggia arequipensis and H. miranda, have unbranched flowering stalks and all species except H. eremophila have flowering stalks that are longer than the leaves. Species of the subclade containing all the North American herbaceous species (H. drepanocarpa to H. humilis in Fig. 1) share the characters of glabrous petal margins and glabrous dorsal petal surfaces (i.e., lacking glandular trichomes). The South American clade of Hoffmannseggia miranda and H. prostrata have long multicellular trichomes on the claws of the petals. Finally, although in different clades, H. erecta, H. eremophila, H. doellii, H. minor, H. trifoliata, and H. yaviensis all have fruits that curve downward. In general, the North American herbaceous species are easier to distinguish morphologically (using trichome and fruit characters) from one another than the high Andean herbaceous species (H. doellii, H. eremophila, H. minor, H. yaviensis). However, in terms of molecular sequence data, several of the North American species are quite similar (Fig. 1), perhaps reflecting a recent radiation.

Assessing biogeography in light of the recent well-supported molecular phylogeny (Simpson et al., 2005) has shown that there have been four dispersals from South America to North America (Fig. 1).

Artificial Key to the Species of Hoffmannseggia

1. Plants subshrubby with woody branches, at least basally; flowers borne on leafy branches; fruits lunate, arcuate, or unequally obtrullate, dehiscent by simple spreading of the valves, valves occasionally in-rolling after dehiscence.

2. Leaf margins with glandular trichomes.

3. Plants upright with distinctive woody branches, never sticky; fruits crescent-shaped, wide in the middle and pointed on the ends.

4. Branches gray (sometimes orange), robust; leaves (including petiole) less than 10 mm long (including the petiole); fruit valves with glandular trichomes 16. H. pumilio

4. Branches red or brown, thin; leaves (including petiole) 10–23 mm long; fruit valves glabrous 4. H. drummondii

3. Plants spreading, often decumbent with branches woody at the base; stems and foliage often sticky; fruits with parallel margins and curved into an arc with a rounded tip 20. H. viscosa

2. Leaf margins eglandular.

5. Claws of petals with conspicuous long trichomes; flowers over 10 mm long; stipules fan-shaped with conspicuous stiff setae at the tips; fruit unequally obtrullate, dehiscent with the valves twisting 12. H. miranda

5. Claws of petals glabrous; flowers less than 10 mm long; stipules linear-lanceolate to ovate and acute; fruits crescent-shaped or with parallel sides and arcuate, dehiscent with the valves simply spreading apart.

6. Plants highly branched, sometimes divaricately so; stems leafy; leaves with the terminal pinna shorter than, equal to, or only slightly longer than the lateral pinnae.

7. Plants nearly prostrate with branches almost zigzag but not spine-tipped; leaflets 3–6 pair; young stems and leaf rachises light red-brown; sepals always persistent in fruit; legume 15 mm long, 4–5 mm wide 14. H. peninsularis

7. Plants erect, divaricately branching with very short internodes and often spinescent at the tips; young branches and leaf rachises often bluish or reddish; leaflets 8–10 pair; sepals often partially deciduous in fruit; legume 15–20 mm long, 6–7 mm wide 9. H. intricata

6. Plants not highly branched and with branches sometimes appearing fasiculate; usually almost aphyllous; leaves with the terminal pinna noticeably longer than the lateral pinnae 10. H. microphylla

1. Plants perennial herbs; flowers borne on unbranched flowering stalks arising from the base of the plant (but see H. miranda); fruits arcuate, orbicular, or unequally obtrullate in outline, indehiscent or dehiscent with each valve twisting around itself longitudinally.

8. Flowers with conspicuous glandular trichomes greater than 0.5 mm in length on the claws of the petals; flag petal with conspicuous glandular trichomes on the dorsal surface.

9. Stem bases woody with stems often branching basally; flowers yellow orange, with purple (occasionally yellow) filiform trichomes on the petal claws 0.5–3.0 mm long; fruits elongate, obtrullate in outline, dehiscent with the valves twisting; valves glabrous to tomentose

10. Leaflets subeliptical, obovate, or subfalcate in outline, without conspicuous veins, soft, (4)6–9(10) pair per pinna 1. H. arequipensis

10. Leaflets ovate, obovate, or elliptical in outline, prominently veined, coriaceous, 3–5(9) pair per Pinna 12. H. Miranda

9. Plants completely herbaceous; flowers bright yellow, with yellow (occasionally red in H. prostrata), glandular clavate trichomes on the petal claws less than 0.5 mm long; fruits with parallel margins, straight or arcuate, more or less glabrous, lightly pubescent, or puberulent, or unequally obtrullate and densely covered with long capitate trichomes.

11. Pedicels and sepals with conspicuous, stalked glandular trichomes.

12. Fruits with parallel margins, arcuate, indehiscent; valves lightly tomentose with a few scattered glandular trichomes; tip of fruit rounded; roots forming tuber-like masses 7. H. glauca

12. Fruits with margins not parallel and unequally obtrullate in outline, dehiscent with the valves twisting around themselves after dehiscence; valves densely covered with black-tipped glandular trichomes; tip of fruit acute; roots not forming tuber-like swellings 13 b. H. oxycarpa subsp. arida

11. Pedicels and sepals tomentose with no or very few scattered glandular trichomes.

13. Fruits curled into an S-shape or complete circle; valves glabrous; flowers nodding after blooming. [Note: the two following species hybridize and intermediate specimens occur.]

14. Leaves with 2–6 pairs of pinnae; leaflet apex rounded or slightly acute 5. H. erecta

14. Leaves trifoliolate; leaflet apex acute to mucronate 19. H. trifoliata

13. Fruits straight; valves strigose to lanose; flowers remaining upright after blooming 15. H. prostrate

8. Flowers without glandular trichomes (or only a few) on the petal claws; flag petal with or without glandular trichomes on the dorsal surface.

15. Flowers without glandular trichomes on the dorsal surface of the flag petal; roots never forming tuber-like growths; fruits straight and borne upright (except H. oxycarpa subsp. ox:ycarpa), or arcuate and curled upward, or almost orbicular, always with the placental margin uppermost.

16. Flowers 6–10 mm long; fruits with parallel margins and either straight or curved into a pronounced arc.

17. Fruits straight, 8–19 mm long, beige with red edges; seeds 2–4 per fruit 18. H. tenella

17. Fruits curled into a pronounced arc, 23–40 mm long (total length), brown or red; seeds 6–11 per fruit 3. H. drepanocarpa

16. Flowers 7–20 mm long; fruits obtrullate, rectangular, oblong, or almost orbicular in outline.

18. Sepals and pedicels with conspicuous multicellular glandular trichomes.

19. Fruits rectangular in outline, reticulately veined, indehiscent; leaflets usually strigose or villous 8. H. humilis

19. Fruits unequally obtrullate, obscurely veined, dehiscent with the valves twisting after dehiscence; leaflets usually glabrous 13 a. H. oxycarpa subsp. ox:ycarpa

18. Sepals and pedicels pubescent, strigose, or tomentose, but lacking glandular trichomes.

20. Free portion of sepals 7–11 mm long; fruits broad, sometimes almost orbicular in outline, 10–20 mm wide 16. H. repens

20. Free portion of the sepal 3–5 mm long; fruits oblong in outline, less than 10 mm” Wide 20. H. watsonii

15. Flowers with glandular trichomes on the dorsal side of the flag petal; roots often forming tuberlike growths; fruits straight or curled (sometimes into a complete circle or into an “S” shape) and curved downward with the placental margin facing downward.

21. Fruit straight or only slightly recurved, usually shorter than 3.5 cm; inflorescences with fewer than 8 flowers per inflorescence.

22. Plants lacking glandular trichomes on the sepals, pedicels, and fruit valves, occasionally present on the edges of the stipules; leaflets uniformly green.

23. Leaflet surfaces, primarily the dorsal, with sparse strigose trichomes; leaflet margins usually with a conspicuous dense row of very short, white, straight, setose trichomes; sepals with strigose trichomes; all petals with dense, often contrastingly colored glandular trichomes on the dorsal surfaces; fruits red; valves more or less glabrous; fruit margins glabrous 11. H. minor

23. Leaflet surfaces (primarily the dorsal) with small, scattered curled trichomes; leaflet margins with a few small, curled trichomes; sepals with short curled trichomes; nonflag petals with fewer yellow glandular trichomes on the dorsal surfaces or claws than the flag petal; fruits brown or red; valves and margins with short, curled trichomes 22. H. yaviensis

22. Plants with conspicuous black-tipped glandular trichomes on the sepals, pedicels, and fruit valves; leaflets with red margins 6. H. eremophila

21. Fruit recurved into a S-shape or a semi-circle, usually longer than 3.5 cm; inflorescences usually with more than 8 flowers per inflorescence.

24. Flowering stalks and pedicels villous with red-tipped or dark red glandular stalked trichomes; flowers red-tipped in bud; glandular trichomes on the dorsal petal surfaces obvious; fruit over 5 mm wide, usually curling into a semi-circle; valves of fruit pilose and glandular 2. H. doellii

24. Flowering stalks and pedicels more or less glabrous, without glandular trichomes; flowers yellow in bud; glandular trichomes comparatively obscure on dorsal surfaces of the petals; fruits usually less than 5 mm wide, often twisting into a S-shape; valves of fruit usually glabrous. [Note: the two following species hybridize and intermediate specimens can be found.]

25. Leaves with 2–6 pairs of pinnae; leaflet apex rounded or slightly acute 5. H. erecta

25. Leaves trifoliolate; leaflet apex acute to mucronate 19. H. trifoliate

Fig. 1.

Phylogenetic hypothesis of Hoffmannseggia resulting from a Bayesian analysis of combined molecular sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS), the chloroplast trnL intron, trnL-F spacer region, and rbcL (Modified from Simpson et al., 2004). Tax.a subtended by light lines are North American, those with black bars are South American showing that there have been four dispersals from South to North America. Note the natural occurrence of H. glauca on both continents. Hoffmannseggia arequipensis, not recognized in the study of Simpson et al (2004) would form a clade with H. miranda.

Synopsis of the Species

There have been various spellings of Hoffmannseggia and many species were described as “Hoffmanseggia” or even “Hoffmannsegia.” The correct spelling by orthographic conservation is with “nn” and “gg” (as in the name of John C. Hoffmannsegg for whom the genus was named). Consequently, in the following nomenclature, we have used Hoffmannseggia regardless of the original spelling of the author.

Note that representative specimens are given only for the South American species. Extensive lists of specimens examined for the North American taxa and maps of all of their distributions were given in an earlier issue of this journal (Simpson, 1999).

Fig. 2.

Flowers of Hoffmannseggia species. A. H. doellii showing the small yellow glandular trichomes on the claws of the petals. ×4.5. B. H. drepanocarpa from west-central Texas with a very simple flower. × 13. C.H. minor, a ground-hugging high Andean species. ×3. D. H. miranda from the coast of Peru showing the extremely long dark-colored trichomes on the petal claws. ×3. E. H. viscosa from western Peru has very variably sized flowers. ×4. F. H. yaviensis from northern Argentina. ×1.9. Photos by J. L. Neff.

Fig. 3.

Variation in fruits of Hoffmannseggia species. A. H. doellii from northern Argentina has dark-colored slightly recurved fruits. ×2. B. Fruits of H. miranda are dehiscent with the valves twisting after the seeds have been shed. ×2. C. H. peninsularis from Baja California has fruits similar to those of H. viscosa (Fig. 3F). ×2. D. H. repens restricted to the deserts of eastern Utah and neighboring Colorado, USA, has broad, flat, undulating fruits. ×0.67. E. H. tenella, an endangered species from southern Texas, USA has simple indehiscent fruits. ×3.5. F. H. viscosa has lunate fruits. ×l.4. Photos by J. L. Neff.

Disposition of Names and Taxa Placed at Various Times in Hoffmannseggia

Names in bold are accepted. For others, current, accepted placement is given after the “ = “ sign. Accepted species are treated alphabetically in this revision. H. refers to Hoffmannseggia and C. to Caesalpinia.