Punjuba Britton & Rose (1928: 28)

Soares, Marcos Vinicius Batista, Guerra, Ethiéne, Morim, Marli Pires & Iganci, João Ricardo Vieira, 2024, Taxonomic revision of the genus Punjuba (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae), Phytotaxa 659 (1), pp. 41-55 : 42-43

Punjuba Britton & Rose (1928: 28) .

Lectotype: Pithecellobium racemiflorum Donn. Sm. (1913: 57) ≡ Punjuba racemiflora (Donn.Sm.) Britton & Rose (1928: 28) .

Figure 1

Shrubs and trees unarmed; stipules usually deciduous; branches indumented to glabrescent. Leaves bipinnate, alternate with 1–5 pairs of pinnae; nectaries sessile between pinnae and leaflets pairs; petiolate to subsessile leaflets, symmetrical, elliptical, ovate, oblong, or lanceolate, indumented or not, secondary ribs arched, eucamptodromous or brochidodromous venation. Inflorescence axillary, long-racemose or spiciform, bracteoles generally caducous. Flowers pedicellate or sessile, homomorphic, pentamerous; calyx gamosepalous, indumented or not; corolla gamopetalous, glabrous or pilose; androecium with many stamens, exserted; filaments fused into a tube, with a stemonozone; anthers rimose; ovary superior; stigma punctiform. Pods a compressed or flattened legume, the valves chartaceous, curved to spiral, epicarp smooth, not pulverulent and generally with a red endocarp. Seeds translucent lacking pleurogram, funicle persistent; embryo invaginate, bluish cotyledons.

Distribution: — The genus is distributed in the Andean valleys of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, with Punjuba racemiflora reaching Central America in Costa Rica and Panama ( Fig. 1 ).

SIX SPECIES. Punjuba callejasii , Punjuba centiflora , Punjuba foreroana , Punjuba killipii , Punjuba lehmannii and Punjuba racemiflora .

Identification key to species of Punjuba

1. Inflorescences spiciform; flowers sessile ...........................................................................................................................................2

- Inflorescences long-racemose; flowers pedicellate, pedicels 0.1–0.7 cm ..........................................................................................4

2. Leaflets 12–18 pairs per pinnae, 0.8–1.3 × 0.5–0.7 cm, adaxial surface glabrous.......................................................... P. foreroana

- Leaflets 3–7 pairs per pinnae, 2.5–16 × 1.5–6 cm, adaxial surface pubescent or puberulent, at least on the central vein ................3

3. Leaflets 5–7 pairs per pinnae, both surface pubescent, strongly discolor, margin revolute............................................ P. lehmannii

- Leaflets 3–6 pairs per pinnae, glabrous to minutely puberulent on the adaxial surface, concolor, margin plain ................. P. killipii

4. Inflorescence peduncles 5.5–11 cm long, and axis 12–20 cm long; flowers pedicels 0.5–0.7 cm .............................. P. racemiflora

- Inflorescence peduncles 1.5–6 cm long, and axis 2.5–8 cm long; flowers pedicels 0.1–0.2 cm .......................................................5

5. Leaflets 4–5 pairs per pinnae, adaxial surfaces puberulent on the central vein, petioles 7–8 cm long; flowers pedicels 0.1 cm long .......................................................................................................................................................................................... P. centiflora

- Leaflets 2–3 pairs per pinnae, both surfaces glabrous, petioles 1–2 cm long; flowers pedicels 0.2 cm long................... P. callejasii

Figures

FIGURE 1. Geographic distribution of Punjuba Britton & Rose (Leguminosae).