Cordeauxia Hemsl., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1907: 361. 1907.

Bruneau, Anne, de Queiroz, Luciano Paganucci, Ringelberg, Jens J., Borges, Leonardo M., Bortoluzzi, Roseli Lopes da Costa, Brown, Gillian K., Cardoso, Domingos B. O. S., Clark, Ruth P., Conceicao, Adilva de Souza, Cota, Matheus Martins Teixeira, Demeulenaere, Else, de Stefano, Rodrigo Duno, Ebinger, John E., Ferm, Julia, Fonseca-Cortes, Andres, Gagnon, Edeline, Grether, Rosaura, Guerra, Ethiene, Haston, Elspeth, Herendeen, Patrick S., Hernandez, Hector M., Hopkins, Helen C. F., Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Isau, Hughes, Colin E., Ickert-Bond, Stefanie M., Iganci, Joao, Koenen, Erik J. M., Lewis, Gwilym P., de Lima, Haroldo Cavalcante, de Lima, Alexandre Gibau, Luckow, Melissa, Marazzi, Brigitte, Maslin, Bruce R., Morales, Matias, Morim, Marli Pires, Murphy, Daniel J., O'Donnell, Shawn A., Oliveira, Filipe Gomes, Oliveira, Ana Carla da Silva, Rando, Juliana Gastaldello, Ribeiro, Petala Gomes, Ribeiro, Carolina Lima, Santos, Felipe da Silva, Seigler, David S., da Silva, Guilherme Sousa, Simon, Marcelo F., Soares, Marcos Vinicius Batista & Terra, Vanessa, 2024, Advances in Legume Systematics 14. Classification of Caesalpinioideae. Part 2: Higher-level classification, PhytoKeys 240, pp. 1-552 : 1

Cordeauxia Hemsl., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1907: 361. 1907.

Figs 36 , 38 , 40

Type.

Cordeauxia edulis Hemsl.

Description.

Multi-stemmed, unarmed, evergreen shrubs, red gland dots on stems. Stipules caducous or lacking (not seen). Leaves pinnate; leaflets in (1) 2-4 (6) pairs, coriaceous, with conspicuous red glands on the lower surface (Fig. 38D ). Inflorescence a terminal, few-flowered raceme. Flowers bisexual, sub-actinomorphic; hypanthium persisting as a shallow cup at the pedicel apex as the fruit matures; sepals 5, caducous, with red glandular dots; petals 5, free, yellow; stamens 10, free, filaments pubescent; ovary with red gland dots. Fruit compressed-ovoid, ligneous, dehiscent, with very hard, thick valves, and a cornute beak, 1-4-seeded (Fig. 36G ). Seeds ovoid.

Chromosome number.

2 n = 24 ( Miège and Miège 1978).

Included species and geographic distribution.

Monospecific ( C. edulis ), in north-eastern Africa (Somalia and Ethiopia). Introduced in Israel, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, and Yemen ( Orwa et al. 2009; Fig. 40 ).

Ecology.

Seasonally dry tropical (semi-desert) bushland and thicket on sand.

Etymology.

Named by Hemsley for Captain H. E. S. Cordeaux (1870-1943), one time H. M. Commissioner in Somalia.

Human uses.

The seeds of C. edulis (yeheb nut) are used as human food and have potential as an arid-land food; also used as livestock fodder, production of a red dye, as medicine, wood, an insecticide, and a soap substitute ( Lewis 2005b).

Notes.

Cordeauxia is closely related to the genus Stuhlmannia but is easily distinguished by its distinct habit: a shrub with a large tap-root (vs. medium-sized tree), and large, cornute, inertly dehiscent fruit with ovoid seeds (vs. non-cornute, explosively dehiscent fruit with compressed seeds).

Taxonomic references.

Brink (2006); Gagnon et al. (2016); Lewis (2005b); Roti-Michelozzi (1957); Thulin (1983, 1993).

Figures

Figure 36. Fruits of Caesalpinieae A Hererolandia pearsonii (L. Bolus) Gagnon & G. P. Lewis, Namibia, Sesriem Canyon B Haematoxylum brasiletto H. Karst., Mexico (Lewis 2057) C Lophocarpinia aculeatifolia (Burkart) Burkart, Paraguay, (Fortunato 8650) D Hoffmannseggia arequipensis Ulibarri, Peru, Arequipa, (Hughes et al. 2342) E Balsamocarpon brevifolium Clos, Chile (Baxter et al. DCI 1859) F Zuccagnia punctata Cav., Argentina, Mendoza G Cordeauxia edulis Hemsl., Somalia H Erythrostemon coccineus (G. P. Lewis & J. L. Contr.) Gagnon & G. P. Lewis, Mexico, Oaxaca (Lewis et al. 1802) I Paubrasilia echinata (Lam.) Gagnon, H. C. Lima & G. P. Lewis, Brazil J Libidibia paraguariensis (Parodi) G. P. Lewis, Bolivia, Santa Cruz (Hughes 2475) K Coulteria mollis Kunth, Guatemala (Lewis et al. 1714) L Cenostigma pluviosum var. cabralianum (G. P. Lewis) Gagnon & G. P. Lewis, Brazil (Lewis et al. 2019) M Pomaria jamesii (Torr. & A. Gray) Walp., USA. Photo credits A AA Dreyer B, I, K, L GP Lewis C RH Fortunato D, H, J CE Hughes E P Baxter F Italo Specogna, Flora mendocina (http: // www. floramendocina. com. ar / clase _ 3 / zuccagnia _ punctata _ p 9558. html) G M Thulin M P Alexander, SEINet Arizona Chapter (https: // swbiodiversity. org / seinet / imagelib / imgdetails. php? imgid = 253949).

Figure 38. Vegetative traits of the Caesalpinieae A Hoffmannseggia minor (Phil.) Ulibarri, Bolivia B Hererolandia pearsonii (L. Bolus) Gagnon & G. P. Lewis, Namibia, Sesriem Canyon C Moullava spicata (Dalzell ex Wight) Nicolson, India, Maharastra D Cordeauxia edulis Hemsl., undersurface of leaflets showing glands, Somalia E Pomaria austrotexana B. B. Simpson, USA, Texas F Small tree of Erythrostemon nicaraguensis (G. P. Lewis) Gagnon & G. P. Lewis, Nicaragua, Esteli (Hawkins et al. 4) G Leopard bark of Libidibia paraguariensis (D. Parodi) G. P. Lewis, Bolivia, Santa Cruz (Hughes 2475) H Lenticelled bark of Erythrostemon nicaraguensis (G. P. Lewis) Gagnon & G. P. Lewis, Nicaragua, Esteli (Hawkins et al. 4) I Young flush of leaves of Cenostigma pluviosum var. intermedium (G. P. Lewis) Gagnon & G. P. Lewis, Brazil, Bahia (Lima et al. 7901) J Fluted trunk of Haematoxylum brasiletto H. Karst., Mexico, Oaxaca, (Hughes 1947) K Prickles on woody protuberances on a young trunk of Paubrasilia echinata (Lam.) Gagnon, H. C. Lima & G. P. Lewis, Brazil, Bahia (Lima et al. 7909) L Recurved spines of Biancaea decapetala (Roth) O. Deg., Peru, Ancash, (Hughes et al. 3055). Photo credits A GP Lewis B AA Dreyer C Shivaprakash, iNaturalist (https: // inaturalist. ca / observations / 81864757) D M Thulin E WR Carr F-H, J CE Hughes I, K, L E Gagnon.

Figure 40. Distribution of Cordeauxia based on quality-controlled digitised herbarium records. See Suppl. material 1 for the source of occurrence data.