Teyleria Backer, Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg Bul.

Egan, Ashley N. & Pan, Bo, 2015, Resolution of polyphyly in Pueraria (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae): The creation of two new genera, Haymondia and Toxicopueraria, the resurrection of Neustanthus, and a new combination in Teyleria, Phytotaxa 218 (3), pp. 201-226 : 207-208

Teyleria Backer, Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg Bul. (ser 3) 16:107. 1939

Type species: — Teyleria koordersii (Backer) Backer, Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg ser. 3 16:108. 1939 syn nov. ( Teyleria tetragona (Merrill) Maesen, Agric, Univ, Wageningen Papers 85,1: 119. 1985.)

Diagnosis: —Vine or scandent shrub, perennial. Stems angular to terete, sulcate in upper parts. Leaves pinnately trifoliolate. Leaflets entire. Stipules basifixed. Petioles angular to canaliculate. Nodose pseudoracemes axillary, rachis 4-angled, bract at the base of node persistent, pair of bracteoles at the base of the calyx. Calyx 4- or 5-lobed, the top two connate for more than half their length or entirely connate. Corolla white or bluish-purple. Stamens monadelphous, vexillary stamen connate to the tube in the middle. Fruits compressed, septate between the seeds. Seed coat tuberculate.

Description: —Herbaceous or woody climber or scandent shrub, perennial. Young stems angular, pubescent, the older, woody stems becoming terete and glabrate. Stipules basifixed, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, persistent. Leaves pinnately trifoliolate, petiole angular to canaliculate, pubescent; terminal leaflet rhomboid to ovate, lateral leaflets smaller, obliquely ovate, apices acute to acuminate, bases rounded to cuneate, veins prominent below, not in pairs, 4–6 laterals on each side; petiolules 2–7 mm long, pubescent; stipels lanceolate, persistent. Inflorescence either a terminal panicle or more commonly an axillary pseudoraceme with the rachis single or with one branch, peduncle and rachis strongly angular, pubescent, more densely hairy on the angles, nodose with thickened, condensed racemules persistent on the rachis, 3 or more flowers per node; bracts subtending nodes, lanceolate, curved upward towards apex of inflorescence, persistent; bracts subtending pedicels, lanceolate, curved upward towards apex of inflorescence, persistent to late-caducous; pedicels 1–3 mm long, pubescent; bracteoles 2 per flower, attached at base of the calyx. Calyx pubescent, 4- or 5-lobed, upper 2 lobes entirely or nearly entirely connate from the base. Corolla bluish-purple, white, or white suffused with purple; vexillum obovate to ovate, apex obtuse to emarginate, wing petals obovate, clawed; keel petals clawed. Ovary elongate, pubescent or not; style glabrous, stigma terminal, globular, pubescent at base. Stamens monadelphous, the vexillary stamen connate to staminal column in middle, free below; anthers basi-dorsifixed, alternately on long and short filaments. Fruits leguminous pods, flattened-oblong, glabrous to pubescent, apex acuminate, apiculate with persistent style, base cuneate, sutures thickened, septate. Seeds ovoid to nearly quadrate with rounded edges, compressed, reddish-brown to black, seed coat finely tuberculate; funicle deltoid; aril elongate.

Distribution: — Cambodia, China (Yunnan and Hainan provinces), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Discussion: — Teyleria stricta contains canavanine, a free amino acid not usually found in subtribe Glycininae , to which T. stricta is allied ( Lackey, 1977a). Because of this, Lackey (1977b) suggested that T. stricta was anomalous in the genus Pueraria and likely allied with Neonotonia J.A.Lackey (J. Lackey, 1977). Van der Maesen (1985) acknowledged Lackey’s opinion, but disagreed with its removal from the genus, stating “morphologically the species fits better in Pueraria , as differences in habit, inflorescence size, calyx shape, flower size and shape, pod size and shape separate it from Neonotonia wightii (Arnott) J.A.Lackey.” Phylogenetic affiliations support Lackey’s hypothesis of a relationship between T. stricta and Neonotonia ( Lackey, 1977b) , with a clade comprised of Neonotonia and Teyleria , including T. stricta nested within Teyleria , strongly supported by both nuclear and chloroplast data (Egan et al., in prep.). This clade is supported by chemistry via the presence of canavanine in a subtribe otherwise devoid of it (Bell, Lackey, & Polhill, 1978; Lackey, 1977 a, 1977b). Pueraria stricta is here transferred to Teyleria , a group sharing morphological features including angular petioles, quadrangular stems, small flowers along an erect rachis, monadelphous stamens, septate fruit, and a sculptured seed coat.

Following the advice of (1977b), van der Maesen (1985) moved Pueraria tetragona Merrill from Pueraria to the genus Teyleria , creating the new combination Teyleria tetragona (Merrill) J.A.Lackey ex Maesen, stating in his key that T. tetragona has fruits 4–7 cm × 0.5 cm, whereas T. koordersii has fruits ca. 3 cm × 0.3 cm. However, in our review of several specimens, including all of the specimens examined by van der Maesen (1985), for Teyleria , we note that fruits from T. koordersii rarely approach 5 mm in width, but are more usually 4 mm. Furthermore, fruits range from 3–5 cm in length, with most between 3–4 cm for both T. koordersii and T. tetragona . In reality, no character states delineate the two. Based on the original descriptions of the two species as well as comparison of the holotype and isotypes of T. koordersii and isotypes (holotype not seen) of T. tetragona , we assert that the two entities are conspecific. Even though the type of the genus is T. koordersii Backer (1939) based on Glycine koordersii Backer (1911) , Pueraria tetragona Merrill (1910) is the earliest name at specific rank within the genus Teyleria , a name later synonymized under Teyleria as T. tetragona (Merrill) Maesen (1985) . We therefore recognize T. koordersii as a synonym of T. tetragona .