Balsamocarpon Clos in C. Gay, Fl. Chile. 2(2): 226. 1846 (publ. 1847).

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

Balsamocarpon Clos in C. Gay, Fl. Chile. 2(2): 226. 1846 (publ. 1847).

Figs 36 , 43

Type.

Balsamocarpon brevifolium Clos

Description.

Shrub to 2 m tall, with 3-5 mm long, deflexed or patent, woody, nodal, often paired, sometimes caducous, woody spines. Stipules deltoid, glandular, caducous. Leaves pinnate, in fascicles on short brachyblasts; leaflets in 3-4 pairs, glabrous, fleshy. Inflorescence a short raceme. Flowers bisexual, sub-zygomorphic; a short hypanthium persisting (sometimes with the sepals still attached) and tightly adhering to the base of the fruit as it matures; sepals 5, fimbriate; petals 5, free, yellow, with glandular trichomes on the dorsal surface; stamens 10, free, filaments pubescent; ovary glandular and finely pubescent. Fruit thick, turgid, resinous, glandular, and indehiscent, 3-4-seeded. Seeds round, orange-brown.

Chromosome number.

Unknown.

Included species and geographic distribution.

Monospecific ( B. brevifolium ), endemic to northern Chile, from the Coquimbo and La Serena valleys (Fig. 43 ).

Ecology.

Desert scrub, rocky hillsides.

Etymology.

From balsamo - (Greek = balsam) and carpos (Greek = fruit), the fruits yield a sticky resin traditionally used for tanning.

Human uses.

Fruit resin used in the tanning industry, and wood locally used for charcoal production and as firewood ( Estévez et al. 2010).

Notes.

Over-exploitation and increased fragmentation of the remaining populations of B. brevifolium mean that the species is vulnerable to extinction ( Arancio and Marticorena 2008).

Taxonomic references.

Burkart (1940); Gagnon et al. (2016); Lewis (2005b); Nores et al. (2012); Ulibarri (1996, 2008).

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