TESTA CHARACTERIZATION OF SELECTED CAESALPINIOIDEAE (LEGUMINOSAE) GENERA.

Seed coats of seven of the eight caesalpinioid genera occurring in Texas were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to characterize the testa and to assess these characters for taxonomic usefulness in this initial survey. Although some of the surface patterns have been reported in genera of other legume subfamilies, this is the first report for five of the genera of the Caesalpiniodeae. Seed stomata in Bauhinia have been previously reported, but this is the first report of their appearance in transection using SEM. The success in separating these genera by seed coat topography and other testa characters will provide a basis for more extensive taxonomic studies within this subfamily.