A newsletter to promote communication among research scientists concerned witn the systematics of the Leguminosae/Fabaceae Number 35 May 1992 From the Editors Charles R. Gunn and Joseph H. Kirkbride, Jr. The BB is designed to promote communication among research scientists concerned with legume systematics. To achieve this goal the BB is issued in May and November of each year and features six columns: From the Editors, News (meetings, major events, announcements, etc.), Latin American Legume Report, Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation (new nodulation records). Gleanings, and Recent Legume Literature. Data in the Gleanings column are derived from questionnaire sheets which Readers complete and return. If you have news about legume systematics, send it to us for this column. The Recent Legume Literature column contains published research papers of specific interest to BB Readers. Recent is defined as one year old. We rarely will publish a citation that is more than one year old. Specific interest to BB Readers is defined as research papers of interest to a world wide group of legume systematic botanists. We encourage Bean Bag (BB) Readers to send us notices, observations, etc. Diacritical marks can now be placed in the BB. If such marks should be placed in your name, address, publications, etc., please let us know. We are especially interested in correcting our Directory. Thank you. Electronic copies of The Bean Bag and the Directory can be obtained from TAXACOM, a free online service for biosystematics and biogeography at the Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, New York, USA. The system operator is Dr. Richard H. Zander. TAXACOM is available 24 hours daily at telephone number 716-896-7581 using 2400/1200/300 bps, 8 data bits, 1 bit stop, and no parity. Outside of the USA use CCITT at 2400 bps, otherwise use Bell protocols. Bean Bag address: SB&ML, Bldg. 265, BARC-East Beltsville, MD 20705-2350 USA 2 Bean Bag Number 35 The Bean Bag is Changing Charles R. (Bob) Gunn Your Bean Bag (BB), first issued by R.S. Cowan and C.R. Gunn, has been distributed twice yearly— May and November— since May 1975. The genesis of the BB occurred at the First International Congress of Systematics and Evolutionary Biology (Boulder, Colorado). At an ad hoc meeting of legume taxonomists, Tom Elias (then Director of the Carey Arboretum, New York Botanical Garden) volunteered to produce a legume newsletter, and distributed a questionnaire to potential readers worldwide. When his administrative duties forced him to give up the newsletter (before its first issue), Cowan and Gunn assumed the editorial duties. They printed and distributed the first issue using the results of the questionnaires sent out by Elias. It was Mary Kalin Arroyo who gave us our name— The Bean Bag, and Alice Tangerini developed our first mast head. November 1981 saw the second change of editorship: Cowan resigned, and James Lackey took his place. Lydia Poole handled the mail and prepared copy, and Lynda Chandler designed the Directory cover. Lackey, Poole, and Chandler made career advancements *vhich took them out of our laboratory, and the third editorship change was made: Lackey resigned and was replaced by J.H. Kirkbride, Jr., with the November 1986 issue. Kirkbride brought the BB into the computer age. A database of readers was created, and the directory and mailing labels are generated from the database without further editing. Copy for the BB is now produced on a laser-jet printer making the inclusion of accents possible. Another change is now at hand. I am retiring to devote full time to producing the third and final volume, covering the Faboideae, in my trilogy on the fruits and seeds of the Fabaceae. With the November 1992 issue, the BB Editors will be Kirkbride and John H. Wiersema (ARS Nomenclaturalist) with the assistance of Carole A. Ritchie. A Homonymous Publication The Nebraska Dry Bean Growers Association (NDBGA) has their headquarters in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The NDBGA objective is "to serve as a forum where growers can work together to achieve a more stable dry bean industry in Nebraska." It encourages research and informational programs in dry bean [Phaseolus vulgaris ] production, promotion, and utilization, and also acts as an advocate for and provides services to growers of dry beans. Issues that impact on the dry bean industry, both at national and state levels, are addressed by the Association. In the state of Nebraska, the average yearly production of dry beans is worth approximately US$100,000,000. The NDBGA publishes a sixteen page newsletter four-times each year— Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter— entitled The Bean Bag. The tenth volume is being published this year. A significant portion of the newsletter is devoted to advertising. The articles are a blend of subjects: Practical agriculture, marketing, general information on beans, and NDBGA news and information. The Fall 1991 issue contained the following articles: Taxes and Marketing Dry Beans, Spilling the Beans, Planted Acreage for 1991, Corns and Beans, Growers Association News, Growers Association Field Tour, Newsbriefs, Bean Board Expands Program, Nebraska Hosts Bean Council, What It Takes to be Number One, Tare: Determinator of Quality, Overcome Dull Knife Problems, Promoting Beans in Japan, Treated Seed and Beans, Herbicide Drift, A Look at Soil, Compaction, Conservation - The 90 Farm Bill, Fusarium Yellows in Nebraska, Bean Update, and Bean Event Calendar. May 1992 3 SEMINA A New Publication The first three issues of a new publication, SEMINA , ISSN 0188-6606, have appeared. It will publish articles on seed taxonomy, morphology, anatomy, ontogeny, genetics, ecology, physiology, chemical composition, and management. Each issue consists of one or more articles: 1) Morfologia de las semillas de Inga jinicuil Schlect. Una planta lehosa tropical de importancia agroforestal; 2) Formato descriptivo para la caracterizacion morfolbgica de semillas de leguminosas de importancia agroforestal; and, 3) Metodos para determinar la viabilidad y el vigor de las semillas forestales, and Causas que originan el envejecimiento de las semillas de las plantas lenosas. SEMINA is published by the Centro de Investigaciones en Bosques Tropicales, Campeche, Mexico. For further information, contact: M.C. Anibal Niembro-Rocas, Director Cientifico, Centro de Investigaciones en Bosques Tropicales, Universidad Autbnoma de Campeche, Av. Agustin Melgar s/n, Apartado Postal 204, Campeche, Campeche, Mexico, C.P. 24030, telephone and FAX: 981-12967. Gleanings AGUILAR has two nodule papers in press: Qualitative study of legume nodulation in Philippine spp. and anatomical features of same. Also updating nomenclature of Papilionaceae 1990-92 and Caesalpiniaceae 1992-94 in the Philippines. Needs seeds of tropical legumes and reprints of same and offers herbarium specimens of flowering plant families. ASMUSSEN (new Reader) is working on the population biology of Lathyrus for Flora Nordica. BARHAM (new Reader) is revising Indigofera for Flora of Thailand and needs same. BRIZUELA has a paper in press on n Prosopis burkartii and its possible hybrid origin" and is working with the floral biology of Macroptilium, Phaseolus, and Vigna. CHO and CHOI (both new Readers) are conducting biosystemmatic studies of Indigofera kirilowii and Vicia uni jug a and need same as well as Hedysarum spp. Offer Korean legumes. CHOI (new Reader), see CHO. CORBY is pleased to report that he has a seed of Mora megistosperma and does not need additional seeds. It is the largest legume seed with the following vital statisics: Dimensions, 17 X 14 X 7.5 cm; weight, 645 g fresh and 334 g dry; gross volume, 710 cc; bouyancy cavity, 190 cc; axis, with well developed plumule growing into cavity, 9.5 cm long. DING (new Reader) has started Ph.D. study on systematics and evolution of the Galegeae. Needs current literature on Galegeae. DUKE wants to learn if anyone knows of the use of legume nodules as food or medicine. It appears that heme may be synergistic with zidovidix in fighting AIDS. EZE has started to study the effects of water stress and soil compaction on nodulation of Vigna unguiculata. FERGUSON continues with pollen of Loteae/Coronilleae and is collaborating with LARSEN and LARSEN on Old World Bauhinia palynology. Has a large number of unpublished pollen measurements and micrographs from taxa in the Caesalpinioideae and Papilionoideae available for 4 Bean Bag Number 35 consultations by colleagues. FRANCISCO-ORTEGA has the paper "Use of discriminant function analysis to study diploid and tetraploid cytotypes of Lathyrus pratensis " in press and is working with P. Mendez and M. Fernandez- Galvan on the germplasm of Psoralea bituminosa in the Canary Islands. GALETTO is working with pollination, nectar, and nectar anatomy of Caesalpinioideae. Has a paper in press on the floral biology of Caesalpinia gilliesii. GIGA has a paper in press on Vigna infestation by Callosobruchus rhodosianus. GILL has a paper in press on use of Fabaceae in the ethnomedicinal practices of Nigeria and is * working with the allelopathic effects of leaf stem and root aqueous extracts on germination and radicle length in Vigna unguiculata. GOMEZ-SOSA published "Novedades para la Flora de San Juan: Papilionoideae (Leguminosae)" in. ,?■ Parodiana , volume 7, 1991. GUNN would like to thank everyone who either helped to prepare and publish the BB or contributed material to the first 35 editions. Good luck to KIRKBRIDE, WIERSEMA, and RITCHIE. HARDER has two papers in press on chromosome counts in Psophocarpus and on the origin of cultivated Psophocarpus tetragonolobus. Is working with the legumes of tropical Africa, and offers seeds of Psophocarpus lancifolius and P. scandens from Zaire. HEGNAUER has a 4-5 year project: Volume XI, Leguminosae in Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen. HIDALGO (new Reader) is establishing a core collection of Phaseolus vulgaris germplasm, and offers cultivated species of same. HUGHES continues working on Leucaena and has been in Mexico and Central America. Offers seeds of a wide range of Central American woody legumes. IDRIS (new Reader) at the Department of Biological Sciences, Bayero University, P.B.M. 3011, Kano, Nigeria needs literature on bambara groundnut ( Vigna subterranea , formerly Voandzeia subterranea). JIMENEZ BULLA has a new publication: "Haba Criolla" Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC. (Fabaceae- Faboideae), 533 pp., Secretaria Ejecutiva Convenio Andres Bello. Now is working with the legumes of Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza (Cundinamarca-Meta), Colombia. KAYODE is now studying the soil enrichment attributes of fast growing leguminous trees. Needs information on the agroforestry potential of Acacia tortilis, Albizia spp., Prosopis spp., and Sesbania spp., and offers seeds of tropical leguminous trees. KEARNS (new Reader) is working with legumes for Flora of North America. KLITGAARD is continuing revision of Platymiscium and has started on a cladistic analysis of tribe Dalbergieae. Needs FAA, PFA fixed, or fresh material of any Platymiscium sp. for ontogenetic studies. KOLTERMAN (new Reader) has a new species of Calliandra from Puerto Rico in press. May 1992 5 LISTON is studying the molecular phylogeny of the Galegeae, needs Galegeae seeds, and offers Astragalus seeds. MA is working with the Chinese genera of the Papilionaceae. Needs legume materials and papers for India and East Pakistan. MAASS needs help in identification and determination of Bauhina, Canavalia , Cratylia , Dysolobium, Eriosema, Erythrina, Glycine, Medicago, Rhynchosia , Rovelia, Trifolium, and Vicia. Offers herbarium specimens of selected legumes and germplasm in research quantities of same to users. The Editors were unable to find the genus Rovelia in generally used references such as Index Kewensis. MENDEZ (new Reader) is working with legumes of Canary Islands: forage, alkaloids, and coumarins. Needs seeds and data on Bituminaria bituminosa and general data on forage legumes for arid and semiarid zones. Offers data and small seed sample of B. bituminosa in Canary Islands and also other forage endemics of Adenocarpus, Chamaecytisus, and Teline. % MIOTTO is working with Lathyrus and Vicia of Brazil, needs species of same, and offers duplicates of same from southern Brazil. PREDEEP (new Reader) is studying the systematics of Phaseoleae— Clitoriinae, Diocleinae, Erythrininae, Glycininae, and Ophrestiinae— in India. A testa study using SEM will be included. Offers dry specimens of legumes from India. QUEIROZ has finished his MS thesis, and two papers will be published: Revision of Cratylia and the naming of a new species. Will be working with pollination and evolution of Diocleinae, with fodder legumes of Caatinga, Brazil, and with ALLKIN on pollination and taxonomy of Moldenhawera. RAMIREZ-DELGADILLO (new Reader) is studying the wild Phaseolus spp. of Jalisco, Mexico. RANGAPPA is evaluating Phaseolus germplasm for biotic and abiotic stress factors. REYNOSO-DUENAS (new Reader) is working on the legumes of Jalisco, Mexico. Needs named legume herbarium specimens and offers sheets and seeds of Mexican legumes. RICO-ARCE has a chromosome count paper in press: Albizia, Harvardia, and Pithecellobium and a new combination for Albizia. Has started to revise Neotropical Acacia— Filicinae, Aculeiferum, and Acacia. Will name Neotropical Acacieae and Ingeae (except Inga). RODEROS has started three projects: Isozyme and chloroplast DNA variation in Vigna umbellala and related species; plant lectins from selected legumes; and, biosystematics of Acacia mangium. Needs literature, seeds, and freshly dried leaf material of Vigna mungo, V. radiata, V. umbellata and Acacia mangium. Offers seeds of Vigna spp. listed above, Phaseolus lunatus, and P. vulgasris from the Philippines. STEINER is finishing an intraspecific classification of 130 accessions of Lotus corniculatus and a classification of 33 different Lotus spp. based on seed high-salt soluble polypeptides. This classification is being compared with one based on arbitrary amplified primers. SHARMA is investigating environmental pollution and cuticular dynamics in legumes. SPRENT has two papers in press on the lack of nodules in Acacia brevispica and genetic variation among populations of Gliricidia sepium and G. maculata. Has started working on the genetic variation 6 Bean Bag Number 35 in Chamaecrista in relation to nutrient acquisition systems, and needs seeds of Chamaecrista spp. STERGIOS needs Aldina from Amazonia and Campsiandra from Brazil, Colombia, Guiana, Peru, and Suriname, and offers collections from Venezuelan Guayana (Bolivar and Amazonia). STIRTON needs viable seeds of Acosmium and Atelia. Dried leaves of any Sophoreae should be sent to DOYLE for DNA studies. SURESH (new Reader) is working with fuel-wood trees of India. TINDALE has completed selected species in Acacia section Juli florae for Flora of Australia and is now working on bipinnate Acacia for same, projected completion June 1992. TISSOT (new Reader) is studying the inflorescence of Caesalpinioideae and Mimosoideae. THOTHATHRI is preparing the legumes for the Flora of West Bengal.