Cullen Medik. is a member of tribe Psoraleeae, all
members of which are characterised by delayed development of floral
vasculature, the presence of glands, and uniovulate ovaries.
Cullen is distinguished from the other members of the
tribe by discontinuous floral vasculature, and glandular, non-beaked fruits.
Field work and a morphometric analysis of the
Cullen patens-complex including 20 populations collected
throughout the eastern half of Australia, indicates that four species,
Cullen australasicum, C. discolor,
C. pallidum, and C. patens, may be
distinguished. A phylogenetic analysis indicates two main clades within
Cullen, one including species the stems of which are
branched at the base, and one in which the species are unbranched below.
Furthermore, this analysis shows Bituminaria to be
paraphyletic, Cullen includes 32 known species, 5 of
which, C. pogonocarpum,
C. leucochaites, C. praeruptorum,
C. candidum, and C. corallum are
described as new.
In a broad survey of anther glands in the mimosoid legume tribes Mimoseae and Parkieae, representatives from 30 genera with anther glands were studied using scanning electron microscopy. Four kinds of anther glands could be distinguished. The Piptadenia-type gland, found in all but four of the genera surveyed, is usually spherical to ellipsoid in shape and often borne on a stipe. The cells making up the gland vary in size among species and are often sculptured. Six different kinds of sculpturing can be recognized: smooth, reticulate, striate, rugulate, scabrate, and papillate. The Gagnebina-type gland is the least specialized, consisting of a simple extension of the connective with irregularly projecting cells. The Prosopis africana-type gland is borne ventrally between the thecae, the connective extending hump-like over the apex of the anther. The Pentaclethra-type gland, found only in the genus Pentaclethra, is distinguished by a median dorsal furrow and a ventral conical structure similar to a food body or osmophore. Anatomical sections revealed two different subtypes within the Piptadenia-type gland. Some glands are composed of a homogeneous matrix of isodiametric cells, whereas others have two layers: a peripheral layer of large radially elongated cells, and a central sphere of smaller isodiametric cells and large air spaces. Some characters of anther glands have clear taxonomic significance, and more detailed surveys within genera will undoubtedly provide additional taxonomic markers.
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