| # The genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae |

L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz

### Eligmocarpus Capuron

Type species: E. cynometroides Capuron.

Habit and leaf form. Trees (7–15 m tall, often low branching); unarmed.

Phyllotaxy depicted in illustration as spiral. The leaves compound; pinnate; imparipinnate; with shallowly grooved, puberulous rachides. The leaflets 5–20 mm long, increasing in size towards the leaf apices, many per leaf to few per leaf (usually 5–9(-11)); opposite or sub-opposite; shortly petiolulate (about 0.5 mm); without noticeably twisted petiolules; thinly leathery, oblong to oblong-obovate or -elliptic, tapering to the cuneate base and apically truncate and notched, symmetrical or nearly so; with a predominant ‘midrib’; with a strong, continuous marginal nerve. Stipules absent or early caducous or very inconspicuous in mature leaves; obovate, 2–3 mm long, membranous; not connate. Stipels absent.

Inflorescence and floral morphology. The inflorescences axillary (on young shoots); branched; of cymose units; few flowered, cymose panicles. Bracts about 1.5 mm long, absent at anthesis. Bracteoles present; small, not enclosing the flower buds; absent at anthesis; not valvate.

The flowers about 2 cm in diameter; hermaphrodite; very irregular (zygomorphic); ambiguously ‘papilionaceous’ to not ‘papilionaceous’; pentamerous; coloured (yellow). Hypanthium absent, the androecium hypogynous. The perianth comprising distinct calyx and corolla. Calyx present; 5; covering the rest of the flower in bud; polysepalous; more or less regular (the abaxially keeled sepals subequal); members imbricate. Corolla present; very irregular (with the posterior, exterior petal largest, broader than long and rounded, the lateral pair smaller and obovate, and the lower pair much smaller); 5; without greatly reduced members (the smallest pair being 8–9 mm long); polypetalous. Petals all clawed; imbricate; imbricate-descending with the posterior petal (vexillum) outside; yellow. Disk present and conspicuous (narrowly circular, lobed between the stamens). The androecium comprising 10 members; declinate; with united members (the adaxial 5 forming a deciduous synandrium, with penicillate anthers; the abaxial 5 free, glabrous); members markedly unequal (the 5 free abaxial members shorter); comprising only fertile stamens. Fertile stamens 10. Anthers all attached at the base of the connective; dehiscing via pores or short slits (subapically, by short transverse slits). Ovary thick, sessile or subsessile; free. Stigma not dilated (the style curved, attenuate). Ovules few (3–6).

Fruit, seed and seedling. Fruit suborbicular, transversely crumpled-plicate and concertina-like, indehiscent; dry, not drupaceous; dry, becoming woody (with up to 4 seeds). The mature valves without prominent venation.

Species number and distribution. 1 species (E. cynometroides). Madagascar.

Tribe. Cassieae.

We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, distributions of character states within any set of taxa, geographical distribution, and classification. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.

Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1993 onwards. The genera of Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae and Swartzieae: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. In English and French. Version: 4th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.

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