Tara Molina, Saggio Chili 283. 1789, descr. emended E. Gagnon & G. P. Lewis

Gagnon, Edeline, Bruneau, Anne, Hughes, Colin E., de Queiroz, Luciano Paganucci & Lewis, Gwilym P., 2016, A new generic system for the pantropical Caesalpinia group (Leguminosae), PhytoKeys 71, pp. 1-160 : 32-34

7. Tara Molina, Saggio Chili 283. 1789, descr. emended E. Gagnon & G. P. Lewis Figs 13 , 14C-I

Coulteria Kunth. 1824, in large part (excluding Coulteria mollis Kunth).

Nicarago Britton & Rose. 1930.

Russellodendron Britton & Rose. 1930.

Diagnosis.

Tara differs from the closely related Coulteria in having racemose or paniculate inflorescences of bisexual flowers (vs. racemose inflorescences of unisexual flowers), indehiscent, laterally compressed, oblong, straight, slightly turgid and somewhat fleshy, coriaceous, sessile pods (vs. chartaceous to papyraceous, laterally-compressed, oblong to elliptic, occasionally suborbicular, pods, with a stipe ca. 4-13 mm long), and ellipsoid (vs. ovate-orbicular to sub-quadrate, compressed) seeds.

Type.

Tara tinctoria Molina ≡ Tara spinosa (Molina) Britton & Rose

Emended description.

Shrubs or trees, 3-5 (- 8) m tall, armed with deflexed prickles on the shoots; twigs glabrous to puberulent. Stipules not seen. Leaves alternate, bipinnate, ending with a pair of pinnae, sometimes armed with prickles at the base of the pinnae and leaflets; pinnae in 2-5 opposite pairs; leaflets opposite, in 1-8 pairs per pinna, obovate, broadly elliptic to oblong-elliptic, apex rounded, obtuse, to slightly emarginate, base equal or asymmetrical, rounded to cuneate, 10-46 × 7-35 mm, eglandular, glabrous or pubescent on lower surface; primary vein centric, secondary venation reticulate. Inflorescences in terminal or axillary racemes or panicles, rachis c. 5-30 cm long, glabrous or puberulous, eglandular, unarmed; bracts minute, usually under 3 mm long, with a long acuminate tip, caducous. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic; calyx a hypanthium with five sepals that are 6-9 mm long, eglandular, glabrous to puberulous, lower sepal cucullate covering the other 4 sepals in bud, with a pectinate, fimbriate or entire margin, sepals caducous, but the hypanthium persisting as a calyx ring around the pedicel as the pod matures; petals 5, free, yellow, the median petal with red markings, c. 10 mm long; stamens 10, free, the filaments pubescent, eglandular. Fruit an indehiscent, straight, oblong, laterally compressed, slightly turgid and somewhat fleshy, coriaceous pod, 4-15 × 1.2-4 cm, eglandular, often puberulent when young, glabrescent. Seeds ellipsoid, c. 8-10 mm diameter, brown, shiny.

Geographic distribution.

A genus of three species, one in South America ( Tara spinosa thought to be native to Peru and Ecuador), one in Mexico ( Tara cacalaco ) and one in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and extending into the Caribbean ( Tara vesicaria ). Tara spinosa is also widely cultivated across the tropics and subtropics (including in the Canary Islands) as a source of tannins and occasionally as an ornamental.

Habitat.

Seasonally dry tropical forest to semi-arid thorn scrub.

Etymology.

Derived from the vernacular name ‘tara’ in Peru, Bolivia and Chile.

Notes.

Based on Gagnon et al. (2013), Molinari-Novoa and Sánchez Ocharan (2016) transfered Caesalpinia cacalaco and Caesalpinia vesicaria to the genus Tara , but did not emend the description of the genus, which we provide above.

References.

Britton and Rose (1930); Sprague (1931); Macbride (1943, as Caesalpinia spinosa , 195-196); Ulibarri (1996); Barreto Valdés (2013); Molinari-Novoa and Sánchez Ocharan (2016).

Figures

Figure 13. Tara spinosa (Molina) Britton & Rose. A habit B leaflet undersurface, C section of young stem D flower E calyx opened out F median petal G upper lateral petal H lower lateral petal I stamen J gynoecium K stigma L fruit M seed. A-K from Lewis 1416 L, M from Filskov et al. 37341. Drawn by Eleanor Catherine.

Figure 14. Caesalpinia (Coulteria) velutina Britton & Rose. A inflorescence (G. P. Lewis, Guatemala, Lewis et al. 1713 (K )) B fruits (C. E. Hughes, Guatemala, Lewis et al. 1714 (K )). Tara vesicaria (L.) Molinari, Sanchez Och. & Mayta C habit (C. E. Hughes, Tecolostote, Nicaragua, Hughes 1376 (FHO )) H flower (C. E. Hughes, Rivas, Nicaragua, J. A. Hawkins 11 (FHO). Tara spinosa (Molina) Britton & Rose D inflorescence (E. Gagnon, Ancash, Peru, Hughes et al. 3043 (MT )) I unripe fruits (C. E. Hughes, Cajamarca, Peru, Hughes 1996 (FHO )). Tara cacalaco (Humb. & Bonpl.) Molinari & Sanchez Och. E flowers (C. E. Hughes, Puebla, Mexico, Hughes et al. 2169 (FHO)) F unripe fruits (G. P. Lewis, Mexico, MacQueen 488 (K)) G bark (C. E. Hughes, Puebla, Mexico, Hughes et al. 2073 (FHO )).