Hydrochorea Barneby & J.W. Grimes, Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(1): 23. 1996.

Figs 247, 250

Balizia Barneby & J.W. Grimes, Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(1): 34-35. 1996. Type: Balizia pedicellaris (DC.) Barneby & J.W. Grimes [≡ Inga pedicellaris DC. (≡ Hydrochorea pedicellaris (DC.) M.V.B. Soares, Iganci & M.P. Morim)]

Type.

Hydrochorea corymbosa (Rich.) Barneby & J.W. Grimes [≡ Mimosa corymbosa Rich.]

Description.

Shrubs and trees, unarmed. Stipules linear, linear-lanceolate, ligulate or subulate, persistent or caducous. Leaves bipinnate, extrafloral nectaries sessile between the first pair of pinnae or along the leaf rachis, orbicular, patelliform or cupuliform; pinnae 1-15 pairs; leaflets 2-33 pairs, alternate, variable in size and shape. Inflorescences corymbose-umbellate. Flowers heteromorphic, the peripheral flowers pedicellate, the terminal flower sessile; calyx gamosepalous, 5-8 toothed; corolla gamopetalous, 5-8 toothed; stamens (10) 12-30 (36), filaments fused into a tube, stemonozone present, anthers rimose; pollen in 16 or 28-celled polyads, plano-compressed disc-shaped; ovary pubescent or glabrous. Fruits straight or recurved, either lomentiform, the seeds released in one-seeded articles, or woody and indehiscent, or follicular, or crypto-lomentiform with follicular dehiscence. Seeds ovate to oblong, with pleurogram.

Chromosome number.

Unknown.

Included species and geographic distribution.

Ten species, from Brazil to Colombia in South America, Central America, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Senegal (Fig. 250).

Ecology.

Riparian habitats, inundated and non-inundated wet tropical forests, swamp forests, seasonally inundated forests, riverbanks, mangrove swamps, and gallery forests.

Etymology.

From Greek, hydro (= water) and chorein (= to travel), in allusion to water dispersed propagules.

Human uses.

Firewood.

Notes.

The genus Hydrochorea was recently revised based on phylogenomic analyses (Soares MVB et al. 2022) that confirmed Balizia as paraphyletic in relation to Hydrochorea, along with two African species formerly placed in Albizia . Soares MVB et al. (2022) suggested that rapid initial divergence between Hydrochorea and the closely related Jupunba led to extensive incomplete lineage sorting and poor phylogenetic resolution between the two genera.

Taxonomic references.

Barneby and Grimes (1996); Soares (2015); Soares MVB et al. (2022).