Entada rheedei Spreng., Syst. Veg. 2: 325. 1825.

O'Donnell, Shawn A., Ringelberg, Jens J. & Lewis, Gwilym P., 2022, Re-circumscription of the mimosoid genus Entada including new combinations for all species of the phylogenetically nested Elephantorrhiza (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, mimosoid clade), PhytoKeys 205, pp. 99-145 : 99

Entada rheedei Spreng., Syst. Veg. 2: 325. 1825.

= Entada pursaetha DC., Mém. Légum.: 421. 1826.

= Entada monostachya DC., Mém. Légum.: 422. 1826.

= Entada gogo I.M. Johnst., Sargentia 8: 137. 1949.

Type.

INDIA. Malabar coast, illustration in Rheede Hort. Malab. 9: 151, tab. 77. 1689.

Description.

Liana to 75 m long, stems to 30 cm diameter at base (Figs 2A , 21A ), with elevated nectaries at nodes. Leaves: rachis 6.4-12.9 cm long, terminating in a bifurcating tendril; pinnae 1-2 pairs per leaf, 5-14 cm long, with 3-5 pairs of opposite leaflets, sometimes terminating in a glandular mucro (Fig. 4E ); leaflets 1.8-6.6 × 1.2-2.9 cm, chartaceous, elliptic to oblanceolate, asymmetric, apex obtuse to acuminate, retuse, base rounded to attenuate, mid-rib above pubescent, lamina glabrous, except below near the base (Figs 2E , 21B ). Inflorescence: a spike, 8-25 cm long, axillary, solitary, or sometimes several spikes from a short shoot, peduncle 1-8.5 cm long, peduncle and rachis puberulous to villose (Fig. 21C ). Flowers: cream or greenish, sessile to sub-sessile, staminate or bisexual, with an unpleasant odour; calyx cupular, 0.75-1.2 mm long, shallowly toothed; petals pale green to white, 2.5-3.5 mm long; stamen filaments 2-6.5 mm long, white turning yellow; stigma shallowly cupular. Fruit: a gigantic, torulose craspedium, 50-200 × 7-15 cm, straight to slightly curved, with transverse septa between seeds dividing the fruit into one-seeded segments which, upon ripening, fall from the persistent replum; segments 6.5-7.5 cm long; epicarp and endocarp woody (Figs 2J , 21D, E ). Seeds: subcircular, laterally compressed, 5 × 3.5-5 cm, hard, brown, pleurogram lacking.

Figures

Figure 2. Genus-wide variation in morphological characters. A-D habit A large woody liana, E. rheedei (photo: B Wursten, Hyde et al. (2021)) B small tree, E. abyssinica (photo: G Baumann, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) C shrub, E. burkei (photo: M Schmidt, Dressler et al. (2014 a, b )) D geoxylic suffrutex, E. dolichorrhachis (photo: M Bingham, Bingham et al. (2021)) E, F leaves E bipinnate leaf with few pinnae, few large leaflets and ending in a bifurcating tendril, E. rheedei (photo: AP Balan, Balan and Predeep (2021)) F bipinnate leaf with many pinnae, many small leaflets and no tendril, E. rangei (photo: A Dreyer, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) G-I inflorescences G terminal panicle of up-turned spikes, E. polyphylla (photo: R Vasquez Martinez, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, MBG (2021)) H axillary fascicles of spiciform racemes, E. goetzei (photo: G Baumann, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) I short spiciform raceme of dark red flowers, E. wahlbergii (photo: R Mangelsdorff, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) J-M fruits J immature, weakly falcate, segmented craspedium up to 2 m long, E. rheedei (photo: photographer unknown, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), 2000) K immature, segmented, laxly spiralled craspedium up to 120 cm long, E. gigas (photo: R Aguilar CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Aguilar (2021)) L ripe segmented craspedia breaking up into one-seeded segments with exfoliating epicarp, E. africana (photo: B Eichhorn, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) M ripe unsegmented craspedium, the entire valve breaking away from the persistent replum, E. burkei (photo: M Kriek CC BY-SA 4.0, Ueda (2021) observation 85675968) N, O seeds N one-seeded endocarp segment and small ovoid, flattened seed with elliptic pleurogram, E. africana (photo: B Eichhorn, Dressler et al. (2014 a)) O ripe one-seeded fruit segments with large circular, laterally compressed seeds lacking a pleurogram, E. gigas (photo: J Stevens, Dressler et al. (2014 a)). Scale bars: 1 cm (N, O).

Figure 4. Putative extrafloral nectaries on herbarium specimens of five of the six native Madagascan species of Entada A E. leptostachya, Du Puy et al. M 235 B E. louvelii, Reserves Naturelles RN 1447 C E. pervillei, Service Forestier 10525 _ SF D E. pervillei, Service Forestier 11481 _ SF E E. rheedei, Gautier LG 3153 F E. tuberosa, Jongkind et al. 3264. Scale bars: 2 mm (A-F). Photos: S O'Donnell.

Figure 21. Entada rheedei habit, vegetative and reproductive structures. A liana with twisted woody stems, South Africa (photo: R Taylor CC BY-NC 4.0, Ueda (2021) observation 28499551) B adaxial view of mature leaf, South Africa (photo: R Taylor CC BY-NC 4.0, Ueda (2021) observation 11095941) C axillary spikes of open, sessile flowers, South Africa (photo: R Taylor CC BY-NC 4.0, Ueda (2021) observation 11095941) D immature pods, South Africa (photo: R Taylor CC BY-NC 4.0, Ueda (2021) observation 28499551) E mature pods of collection Schleiben 769 a, Tanzania (photographer unknown).