Leucochloron Barneby & J.W. Grimes, Mem. New York. Bot. Gard. 74(1): 130. 1996.

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

Leucochloron Barneby & J.W. Grimes, Mem. New York. Bot. Gard. 74(1): 130. 1996.

Figs 265 , 266 , 268 , 269

Type.

Leucochloron incuriale (Vell.) Barneby & J.W. Grimes [≡ Mimosa incurialis Vell.]

Description.

Unarmed trees (Fig. 268C ) with monopodial branches; young branches puberulent or pilosulous; perulate buds often present in leaf axil and at apex of branchlets, scales striate. Stipules caducous. Leaves bipinnate; petiolar glands sessile, cupular or almost plane, between or close below the first pinna pair, sometimes below mid-petiole; pinnae (1) 2-9 pairs; leaflets 4-27 pairs, with palmate-pinnate or pinnate venation. Inflorescences homomorphic, globose or hemispherical capitula, solitary or fasciculate in leaves axils or below the coeval leaves (Fig. 265C ). Flowers 5-merous, white; calyx gamosepalous, deeply campanulate; corolla gamopetalous, tubular or funnel-shaped; androecium 20-40-merous; pollen in 16, 18, 24 or 32-celled polyads ( Souza et al. 2022a); intrastaminal disc absent; ovary sessile. Fruits inertly dehiscent through one (follicle) or both margins (legume), broadly linear, straight or slightly decurved, the valves stiffly papery or coriaceous (Figs 265C , 266B, C ). Seeds discoid, transverse, narrowly winged peripherally, pleurogram absent; endosperm absent.

Chromosome number.

Unknown.

Included species and geographic distribution.

Four species, probably endemic to Brazil, occurring along eastern Atlantic coastal states (Bahia to Paraná) and inland to planaltine Minas Gerais, and Distrito Federal (Fig. 269 ).

Ecology.

Seasonally dry forests, campo, caatinga, open woodland, bush-islands in campo, and in cerrado-gallery ecotone and at elevations of 710-1500 m. Leucochloron minarum (Glaz. & Harms) Barneby & J.W. Grimes and L. limae Barneby & J.W. Grimes are endangered species ( Almeida et al. 2015; Morim 2020).

Etymology.

An anagram of Chloroleucon .

Human uses.

Leucochloron incuriale wood used in luxury furniture, parquet flooring, interior decoration, sheets for plywood coverings, wainscoting; civil construction, such as rafters, frames, slats, floorboards; in rural construction and in external works, such as sleepers, stakes, fence posts, and beams (Campos Filho and Sartorelli 2015).

Notes.

The genus Leucochloron was proposed by Barneby and Grimes (1996) and is diagnosed by the presence of perulate resting-buds, capitate inflorescences isolated or fasciculate in leaf axils or below the coeval leaves and thin shiny disciform narrowly winged seeds lacking a pleurogram.

Barneby and Grimes (1996) included Leucochloron in their informal Chloroleucon alliance that included genera with perulate resting buds. To reinforce its affiliation, they chose to name the genus using an anagram of Chloroleucon . Phylogenetic studies have shown the polyphyly of the Chloroleucon alliance ( Almeida 2014), with the genera occurring dispersed across the ingoid clade, and the more recent phylogenomic analyses support the inclusion of Leucochloron in the Inga clade ( Koenen et al. 2020a; Ringelberg et al. 2022).

Hughes and Atahuachi (2006) described Leucochloron bolivianum C.E. Hughes & Atahuachi from the mid-elevation eastern Andean slopes in Bolivia. Although morphologically fitting the diagnostic circumscription of Leucochloron , molecular data showed that this species does not group with the remaining species of Leucochloron ( Almeida 2014; Koenen et al. 2020a; Ringelberg et al. 2022) and provided support for the recognition of the new genus Boliviadendron E.R. Souza & C.E. Hughes ( Souza et al. 2022a) included in the Albizia clade (page 451).

Lewis (1987) commented about a possible new species related to L. incuriale from a fruiting specimen from western Bahia state, Brazil (G.A. Black 18013, IAN). A second potentially new species from the Guárico state, Venezuela (H.M. Curran 703, NY) was highlighted by Barneby and Grimes (1996). Both need more complete sampling and molecular data to assert their taxonomic placement.

Taxonomic references.

Almeida et al. (2015); Barneby and Grimes (1996); Souza et al. (2022a).

Figures

Figure 265. Foliage, inflorescence and fruits in Inga clade A, B Blanchetiodendron blanchetii (Benth.) Barneby & J. W. Grimes A flowering branch showing the capitate inflorescences clustered in efoliate pseudoracemes B detail of the heteromorphic capitate inflorescence C Leucochloron limae Barneby & J. W. Grimes leafless branch showing homomorphic capitate inflorescences and follicle fruits D Abarema diamantina E. Guerra, Iganci & M. P. Morim with axillary homomorphic capitate inflorescences E, F Robrichia schomburgkii (Benth.) A. R. M. Luz & E. R. Souza E young branch with the characteristic rusty pubescent indumentum F detail of a homomorphic capitate inflorescences G Osodendron altissimum (Hook. f.) E. J. M. Koenen detail of a homomorphic capitate inflorescence H, I Macrosamanea amplissima (Ducke) Barneby & J. W. Grimes H flowering branch with a homomorphic capitate inflorescence I bracts with showy extrafloral nectaries and visiting ants. Photo credit: A, B, D D Cardoso C GP Lewis E G Perez Huertas F F Oviedo-Brenes G E Bidaut H, I J Iganci.

Figure 266. Fruit diversity in Inga clade A young pod of Blanchetiodendron blanchetii (Benth.) Barneby & J. W. Grimes B, C Leucochloron incuriale (Vell.) Barneby & J. W. Grimes B dehisced follicular fruits exposing the seeds (C) D lomentiform fruit of Osodendron altissimum (Hook. f.) E. J. M. Koenen E indehiscent and internally septate pod of Osodendron leptophyllum (Harms) E. J. M. Koenen F auriculiform indehiscent pod of Robrichia schomburgkii (Benth.) A. R. M. Luz & E. R. Souza G young fruit of Abarema cochliacarpos (Gomes) Barneby & J. W. Grimes H dehisced twisted pod of Abarema diamantina E. Guerra, Iganci & M. P. Morim exposing the reddish endocarp and bicoloured seeds I dehisced follicle of Macrosamanea amplissima (Ducke) Barneby & J. W. Grimes J Young fruits of Zygia brenesii (Standl.) L. Rico K dehisced pods of Zygia cognata (Schltdl.) Britton & Rose L-O Indehiscent pods of Inga, with fleshy and sweety sarcotesta around the seeds L Inga grazielae (Vinha) T. D. Penn. M Inga capitata Desv. N Inga ingoides (Rich.) Willd. O Inga edulis Mart. Photo credits A, H LP Queiroz B NA Escobar C J Vieira D D Harris E P Latham, www. africanplants. senckenberg. de F LCampbell G, M, N RT Queiroz http: // rubens-plantasdobrasil. blogspot. com / I J Iganci J F Chinchila Romero K S de Jesus Calva L, O D Cardoso.

Figure 268. Habitat and habit diversity in Inga clade A Abarema cochliacarpos (Gomes) Barneby & J. W. Grimes, arborescent shrub in sandy coastal scrub B Robrichia schomburgkii (Benth.) A. R. M. Luz & E. R. Souza, buttressed emergent tree in rainforests C Leucochloron incuriale (Vell.) Barneby & J. W. Grimes, tree with thick corky bark in semi-deciduous forests D Inga bifoliolata D. B. O. S. Cardoso & Amorim, scandent treelet of rainforest understory E Zygia juruana (Harms) L. Rico treelet of the Amazonian inundated forests (igapo) F Osodendron dinklagei (Harms) E. J. M. Koenen, giant tree from the Guinean forests in West tropical Africa. Photo credits A RT Queiroz https: // rubens-plantasdobrasil. blogspot. com / B G Perez Huertas C F Ventura D, E D Cardoso F W Hawthorne.

Figure 269. Distribution of Leucochloron based on quality-controlled digitised herbarium records. See Suppl. material 1 for the source of occurrence data.