OF THE GENUS MILLETTIA. 135 
remained unidentified until long after the genus had been recognised and 
built up to a considerable size from other sources. M. sericea was, so far as 
can be discovered, the first species to be described. It was found in Java 
by La Haye, Jardinier en chef in the * La Pérouse’ exploring expedition, and 
sent by him to Ventenat, who mentioned it as Pongamia sericea * when 
founding that genus in 1803. It was subsequently described by De Candolle 
(Prodr. ii. 416) in 1825. Two years later a West Tropical African tree 
(M. Thonningii) was described by Schumacher and Thonning (Beskr. Guin. 
Pl. 349) as Robinia Thonningii. In 1832 Roxburgh published the third 
volume of his * Flora Indica? and. included therein descriptions of four more 
Millettias, one M. Piscidia) as a Galedupa, three (M. auriculata, M. fruticosa, 
and M. racemosa) as Robinias. The result of subsequent investigations has 
been to exclude ail these species from the genera to which they were 
originally referred, and to include them one after another in the new genus 
Millettia ї founded in 1834 by Wight and Arnott upon the South Indian 
climbers M. rubiginosa and M. splendens. In 1835 E. Meyer t described 
Virgilia grandis, which is probably M. cafra, from South Africa, and Siebold 
and Zuccarini from the extreme opposite end of the generic range Wistaria 
japonica $, now also regarded as а Меша. Even eight years later when 
the next species was detected, this time in South China, the character of 
Millettia was so little appreciated by Vogel that he founded upon it the new 
genus Marquartia. To Meissner || belongs the credit for making the first 
addition to Wight and Arnott’s genus by referring to it a hardwood tree of 
South Africa which he called JM. саўна, thus preparing the way for the 
recognition of the wide range of the genus. But in 1843 a third new 
genus (Berrebera) was based on an Abyssinian AMillettia (M. ferruginea) by 
Hochstetter. In 1849 Hooker added а fourth to the three species already 
recognised as Millettia by describing M. macrophylla from Nigeria є. At the 
sume time he reduced Hochstetter’s species to the same genus. Here for 
the first time was recognised the truly dehiscent character of. the pods of the 
genus. Wight and Arnott, dealing with a species (only one was known to 
them in fruit) with tardily dehiscent pods, and guided probably by pod 
specimens which, though apparently ripe, had not yet opened, described 
them as indehiscent. Hooker described another J/illettia from the same 
region in the same work, but in the absence of fruit referred it with doubt 
to Lonchocarpus. 
A few years later Junghuhn’s Malayan Leguininosw were submitted to 
Bentham for determination and among them fine specimens of Millettia 
sericea. Of this species, which had already been briefly diagnosed by 
* Ventenat, Malm, 28. § Siebold et Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. 1. 88. 
+ After Dr. Millett, of Canton. || Meissner in Lond, Journ, Bot. ii. (1842) 99, 
і E. Meyer, Comm. 1. € Hooker, Nig. I]. 318 (1849). 
L2 
