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

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.240.101716
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D8A05858-5A0B-9F36-A623-A66E7E5E5965
treatment provided by	PhytoKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Cordeauxia Hemsl., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1907: 361. 1907.
status

Treatment

Cordeauxia Hemsl., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1907: 361. 1907. View in CoL

Figs 36 View Figure 36 , 38 View Figure 38 , 40 View Figure 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 View Figure 38 ). 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 View Figure 36 ). 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 View Figure 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).