248 MR. E. Q. BAKER ON THE 
in the ‘Flora of Tropical Africa, has seven groups :—(1) Simplicifolize, 
(2) Spherocarpe, (3) Oliganthe, (4) Chrysocalycine, (5) Oocarpe, 
(6) Cylindrocarpe, (7) Multifoliolatze. 
I have adopted Simplicifolice and Spheerocarpe exactly as defined in this 
Flora, the first being plants with entirely simple leaves, the second being 
plants with trifoliolate leaves or rarely trifoliolate and simple leaves, with 
globose or subglobose pods, and always small or rather small flowers. 
The Oliganth: for reasons just stated I do not adopt as a section, but as a 
subsection. The Sect. Chrysocalycine I have adopted as used by Bentham. 
It was founded on the genus Chrysocalyx, Guill. & Perr., and as a very 
anomalous species Í include C. nigricans, Baker, with broad and not, as usual, 
narrow braeteoles. The exact limits of the Oocarpz I find too difficult to 
define, but I have refuscitated Bentham's Group Farctæ for plants in which 
the seeds are embedded in wool in the pods, and I use the Sect. Spinosæ 
for C. spinosa, Hochst., and its allies, while in Eucrotalaria I have placed 
nonspinose plants with 3—5-foliolate leaves, with oblong, oviform, or cylin- 
drical pods in which the seeds are not embedded in wool. 
ON THE DELIMITATION OF THE GENUS RmOTALARIA. 
Perhaps the four most important points for distinguishing the plants of 
this genus are:—(a) The generally free calycine lobes, (b) the rostrate 
carina, (e) the monadelphous stamens, and (d) the inflated pod; any 
departure from this structure is a factor which tends to disturb homogeneity. 
Besides these points there is the character of the inflorescence which, 
however, is subject to considerable variation. 
A certain number of plants which have been described as Crotalarias do 
not conform to all the above requirements, and it is a matter in which there 
might be considerable difference of opinion as to which should be retained 
and which should be excluded. 
Beginning with the calyx, we have a series containing C. agatiflora, 
Schweinf., C. Erlangeri, Harms, C. imperialis, Taubert, C. Dawei, Bak. fil., 
etc., in which the four upper lobes of the calyx are connate in two pairs. 
I think there is no doubt that these plants must be included, as the pods of 
those species as far as they are known are inflated and stipitate. These 
species are in fact allied to C. laburnifolia, Linn., but the carina is of rather 
a different shape and the flowers are larger. Then occasionally we have 
plants in which the carina is blunt and not sharply rostrate—for example, 
C. purpurea, Vent. This is a curious species with purplish flowers, but 
I have followed Harvey, though with some hesitation, in including this 
plant. 
In my opinion a distinctly inflated pod is an essential character, and as 
the pod of C. leptocarpa, Balf. fil. (Botany of Socotra, t. 14 A), is not at all 
