Morphological studies on legume and hilum in seven species of Vigna Savi (Fabaceae)

In this study of different taxa of genus Vigna the macro and micromorphological characters were investigated. These taxa collected from different countries (3 cultivated and 8 annual or perennial herbs) representing 7 species of this genus, namely: Vigna radiate, Vigna trilobata, Vigna vexillata, Vigna caracalla, Vigna pubescens, Vigna unguiculata, and Vigna luteola. Legume features such as shape, colour, size, surface texture, number of locules, number of legumes per peduncle seed set percentage, orientation. Moreover, by using scanning electron microscopy, additional details were obtained for stomatal shape, size, type, cuticular and wax ornamentation of the surface of the mature pod, including details of the seed such as hilum shape, size, position, ornamentation based on scanning electron microscope evidence. The usefulness of the macro and micromorphological features as criteria for taxonomic identification was emphasized.    Key words: Vigna, Fabaceae, morphological characters, pod, hilum, S.E.M., taxonomy.