Flora of North America species comparison

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Cologania

cologania
Habit Herbs or vines, perennial, unarmed.
Stems

usually twining or prostrate, rarely erect, densely strigose or hirsute, glabrescent; arising from subterranean, lignescent to woody taproots.
Leaves

alternate, odd-pinnate;

stipules present, persistent, striate;

petiolate;

leaflets (1–)3(or 5), stipels persistent or caducous, sometimes absent, blade margins entire, often revolute, apex mucronate, surfaces usually pubescent, sometimes glabrous adaxially.
Inflorescences

1–6-flowered, axillary, racemes, fasciculate (usually with both chasmogamous and cleistogamous flowers), or with solitary flowers;

bracts present, subtending peduncles and pedicels, persistent, usually relatively small;

bracteoles persistent, paired or alternate proximal to calyx.
Flowers

papilionaceous;

calyx tubular [cylindric], lobes 5, sometimes adaxial pair fused, adaxial gibbous at base;

corolla purple, purple-pink, purplish blue, blue, pink, magenta, red-purple, violet, lilac, or lavender, glabrous;

banner base auriculate, short-clawed;

wings longer than keel, long-clawed, auriculate, distally spreading;

keel slightly incurved, long-clawed;

stamens 10, diadelphous;

anthers sub-basifixed, dehiscing laterally, pollen tricolporate;

ovary usually stipitate, pubescent, nectary disc at base;

style filiform, ± incurved, glabrous, stigma terminal with a crown of short cilia.
Fruits

legumes, sessile or stipitate, compressed or slightly turgid, linear to falcate or strongly curved, dehiscent, cleistogamous fruits smaller, pubescent.
Seeds

2–10(or 11), compressed, usually oblong, orbicular, or subquadrate, rarely rhombic or elliptic;

testa smooth, hilum lateral, ovate, rim-aril and epihilum conspicuous.
x

= 11.

Cologania
Distribution
from USDA
sw United States; sc United States; Mexico; Central America; South America (n Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 15 (3 in the flora).

Cologania is found mostly in montane temperate areas, with Mexico as its center of diversity (G. Flores-Franco 2013).

Species of Cologania can be distinguished by the combination of the following features: woody taproots; commonly trifoliolate leaves; inflorescences with few papilionaceous flowers that have either tubular calyces and brightly colored petals in anthesis (chasmogamous) or funnelform calyces that do not fully open (cleistogamous). The cleistogamous flowers may be found with chasmogamous ones or in short, separate inflorescences that are often smaller and have fewer flower parts, such as the androecium reduced to one or two stamens, and the style shorter and reflexed towards the stamens. Two distinctive fruits are set (amphicarpy); the cleistogamous fruits are shorter and often broader with fewer seeds (2–6). Its polyploid nature, proposed interspecies hybridization, and species leaf polymorphism have made the taxonomy of this genus unstable (O. S. Fearing 1959; R. McVaugh 1987; B. L. Turner 1992).

Plants of Cologania pulchella Kunth, classified under C. broussonetii (Balbis) de Candolle by O. S. Fearing (1959) and B. L. Turner (1992), have been reported to occur within the flora area; however, according to recent studies, C. pulchella is known only from northern Mexico to Panama (G. Flores-Franco 2013).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Herbs prostrate; petioles 0.2–0.5 cm; leaflet blades nearly as long as wide, obovate or obovate-elliptic to orbiculate, apex obtuse; stipels usually caducous; inflorescences pedunculate.
C. obovata
1. Herbs usually twining, sometimes erect, rarely prostrate; petioles 0.8–8 cm, leaflet blades mostly 2–10 times as long as wide, usually linear-oblong, oblong-elliptic, elliptic, lanceolate, ovate, ovate-oblong, or ovate-elliptic, rarely orbiculate, obovate, oblong, or oblong-obovate, apex usually acute to obtuse, rarely acuminate; stipels not caducous; inflorescences sessile or pedunculate.
→ 2
2. Leaflets 3(or 5), green, blades usually linear-oblong, oblong, oblong-elliptic, lanceolate, ovate, elliptic, or ovate-oblong, rarely orbiculate or obovate, apex usually acute or obtuse, rarely acuminate; calyx green to purple; legumes of chasmogamous flowers 5 × 0.4 cm, linear to slightly falcate, sessile, valves densely appressed pilose or hirsute.
C. angustifolia
2. Leaflets 3, pallid green, blades usually elliptic, oblong-elliptic, ovate, or ovate-elliptic, rarely oblong or oblong-obovate, apex usually acute or obtuse, rarely acuminate; calyx pallid green, not purple; legumes of chasmogamous flowers 4.6–6.8 × 0.3–0.4 cm, slightly to strongly curved, stipe 1.6–3.2 mm, valves usually strigose, rarely pilose- hirsute.
C. pallida
Source FNA vol. 11. Authors: Gabriel Flores-Franco, Alfonso Delgado-Salinas.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae
Subordinate taxa
C. angustifolia, C. obovata, C. pallida
Name authority Kunth: Mimoses, 205, plates 57, 58. (1824)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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