Caesalpinioideae

Floral and Vegetative Characters of Caesalpinioideae - subfamily

1. Caesalpinioideae Dr. B. KARUNAI SELVI ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BOTANY V.V.VANNIAPERUMAL COLLEGE FOR WOMEN VIRUDHUNAGAR- 626 001 TAMIL NADU, INDIA [email protected]

2. Caesalpinioideae   Members are mostly tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs Comprising about 150 genera and 2,700 species It  is a  subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae  or  Leguminosae Its name is formed from the generic name Caesalpinia It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily.  Theyare mainly trees distributed in the tropics and subtropics

3. Caesalpinia pulcherrima Peacock flower Dwarf poinciana . Prickly shrub or small tree with pinnate leaves. This plant grows only to a height of about 3 meters Retains its leaves throughout the year Blooms continuously. Flowers - appear in clusters on long erect stems Have exceptionally long stamens Prominent pistil which protrudes from the center. The most common color is red-orange, But one variety has pure yellow flowers.

4. Vegetative characters

5. Vegetative characters Habit – Tree and Shrub It shows great variation in habit i.e. trees Delonix regia , Tamarindus , Caesalpinia , Saraca indica , Cassia fistula, Bauhinia Cassia sophera & Cassia auriculata - Shrub C . occidentalis – un der shrub C. tora - Annual herb Bauhinia vahlii - Woody climber Parkinsonia - Xerophyte

6. Caesalpinia pulcherrima HABIT - SHRUB

7. Vegetative characters Root: Tap root and branched. Stem: Erect Woody Herbaceous Cylindrical Solid Branched Glabrous Covered with prickles and spines ( eg . Parkinsonia ).

8. Vegetative characters Leaf Compound Petiolate Alternate L eafbase pulvinate U nipinnate (Cassia, Tamarindus ), Bipinnate ( Delonix , Caesalpinia ) Rarely simple Stipulate. In Bauhinia the leaf is deeply emarginated Bauhinia

9. Floral characters

10. Caesalpinia pulcherrima Inflorescence: Racemose .

11. Slightly perigynous Variously coloured Showy – Large/Small Pentamerous Floral characters Flower Bisexual Complete Pedicellate Bracteate Irregular Zygomorphic Hermaphrodite

12. Caesalpinia pulcherrima Labeled Flower

13. L.S. of Caesalpinia flower

14. Calyx Sepals 5 - Polysepalous Odd sepal - larger, hooded and anterior in position Imbricate aestivation In Tamarindus the two posterior sepals are united Yellow in Collour Often petaloid

15. Corolla Petals 5 - Polypetalous Ascendingly imbricate aestivation Odd petal - smaller, clawed and posterior in position Petals are absent in S araca

16. Corolla In Tamarindus there are only three posterior petals Copaifera saraca the petals are totally reduced; free, ascending imbricate aestivation, posterior petal is innermost.

17. Androecium Stamens 10, rarely connate Anthers – dithecous , two celled, b asifixed Filaments are free and unequal Dehisce by longitudinal slits or by pores Introrse .

18. Reduction in number of stamens by the formation of staminodes . In Cassia there are 3 posterior staminodes . Saraca 3-8 stamens Tamarindus only 3 stamens and monadelphous

19. Gynoecium Monocarpellary Ovary superior or slightly inferior Ovary - Unilocular Marginal placentation Straight or curved Style long Stigma simple/ Capitate

20. Fruit: Legume Pod Seed : Non-endospermic Exalbuminous Pollination: Entomophilous .

21. Delonix regia Royal poinciana , flame tree, May Flower. Small to mid-sized tree, with a flat to umbrella -shaped canopy and brilliant, orange-red flowers. Gulmohar gets 30-40 ft tall, but its elegant wide-spreading umbrella-like canopy can be wider than its height. Gumohar is naturalized in India and is widely cultivated as a street tree. 

22. Delonix regia

23. Cassia fistula A tropical ornamental tree with a trunk consisting of hard reddish wood, growing up to 40 feet tall. The wood is hard and heavy; it is used for cabinet, inlay work, etc. It has showy racemes, up to 2" long, with bright, yellow, fragrant flowers. These flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies

24. Cassia fistula

25. Bauhinia variegata Large and diverse tropical and subtropical genus comprising approximately 300 species, Most of them possess typical bi-lobed leaves.  The Purple Orchid Tree is an exotic tropical tree that blooms over a long period of time. The petals of  Bauhinia variegata  are broad and overlap - it never open fully flat. The flowers are 12-inch-long, slender, brown, flat seed pods Bauhinia purpurea can reach up to 20 feet tall and have a 25 foot crown.

26. Bauhinia variegata

27. Bauhinia variegata

28. Parkinsonia aculeata Spiny shrub Jerusalem thorn is a small tree growing to 25 ft tall with a short trunk G raceful , spreading, sometimes weeping, crown to 20 ft wide. Flowers are yellow and fragrant, 2 cm in diameter, growing from a long slender stalk in groups of 8-10. 

29. Parkinsonia aculeata

30. Saraca asoca Saraca asoca is an evergreen shrub or small tree They have a dense, spreading crown of horizontal branches; It can grow up to 10 metres tall. Calyx developed into a tubular, Corolla-like structure, subtended by two calyx-like bracts; Stamens borne on the margin of the calyx; pistil united below to one side of the calyx tube.

31. Saraca indica

32. Tamarindus indica Tamarind is a large, evergreen tree. 24 m in height and 7 m in girth.   The most useful part is the pod (also called the fruit). Pods are 7.5–20 cm long, 2.5 cm broad and 1 cm thick. Constricted between the seeds, slightly curved, brownish-ash coloured , scurfy. The outermost covering of the pod is fragile and easily separable

33. Tamarindus indica

34. References https://www.pitchandikulam-herbarium.org/contents/description-flower.php?id=10 https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Cassia-fistula-seeds-Golden-Shower-Tree_60771446740.html http://treeworldwholesale.com/en/yellow-flower/252-parkinsonia-aculeata.html https://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/trees/saraca.htm https://www.pinterest.com/pin/352899320805835185/ http://tropical.theferns.info/image.php?id=Tamarindus+indica https://garden.org/plants/view/87781/Orchid-Tree-Bauhinia-purpurea / https://www.biologydiscussion.com/plants/flowering-plants