XT 



198 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TilK NATIONAL HERBARTIJM. 



1 to 2 cm. long, blini(, siibpessilo, glal)rouR or ihe lower side slightly silky; racemes 

 axillary or t<M'Tniiial^ dense, stalked, 5to 7.5 cm. long, ihe flo-wering part 2.5 cm. long; 

 calyx truncate, thinly silky, the teoth a cry .short; corolla mm. long, reddi^^h, raicly 

 white or purple; pod sessile, 2.5 to 3.5 cm. long, 1.2 cm. broad, oblong, roatrate, sub- 

 coriaceous, flat, 2-valvcd, with cellular partitions between the seeds, glabrous when 

 mature; seeds 4 or 5, globose, shining, scarlet^ with a Ijlack spot at the base. 



Near Bayamon in sandy soil; near Salinas d(^ Cabo T^ojo; near Mayaguez, on luHlges 

 at Guanajibo. — Bahama, Cuba, Jamaica, Ihuli, St. Thomas (Eggers), St. Croix, St, 

 John (Eggers), St. Bartholomew (Euphrasen), Antigua (Grisel)ach), Guadeloupe, 

 Dominica, Martinicpie, St. Vincent, Barbados (Maycock), Tobago, Trinidad. Widely 

 distributed through the Tropics, but often plauLed. 



The brilliant red seeds with a black spot at the hilum are strung by the women of 

 Hindustan and are used instead of beads for ornaiucnts for the neck and also for rosarieSj 

 hence the name "pater noster herb." Tlic h(hh1s are extrejnely pois(m(ms whtm taken 

 in large quantities, and in Inrlia they liave played an important r61e in many a crime. 



Local nameSj prronia, peronilas. 



52, CLITORIA L. 



CUton'a L. Sp. PI. 2: 753. 1753. 



Calyx tubular, th*^ 2 u{)perlob(^s slightly connate, tluOowest narrow; standard large, 

 erect, open, narrowed at the base witliout aurich^s; wings shorter, spreadit^g, adhering 

 to the keel in the midtlle; keel shorter, incurved, acute; upper stamens free or more or 

 less united with the others; antht^'s uniform; ovary stipitafe, with several ovules; 

 style elongated, incurved, more or leas dilated upward and bearded longitudinally on 

 the inner sid(s pod lint^ar, flattened, the u])per or both sutures thickened, the sides 

 flat or convex, occasionally bearing a raised longitudinal rib, dehiscent; seeds globose 

 or flatt(uied. — Herbs or shrubs, short antl c^rect or with long twiuiug branches; leaves 

 piimatCj with 3 or several leaflets or occasioiudly <iTdy ]; stipules persistent, striate; 

 fl()\V(^rs oUou large, ])urple, blue, white, or red, often Iwo-colored, solitary or clustered 

 in tlu^ axils or in pairs crowded in short racemes; bracts stipuledike, persi.^tent, the 

 lower ones in pairs, the upper united into one. 



This g(^nus is readily distinguished l)y its large tubular calyx. 



KKV TO TlfK SPKCIKH. 



Leaflets 2 or 3-jugate (rarely 4 or 5), ovate, blunt t>r oval; peduncle 

 short, ] -flowered; bracteoles suborbicular, about (Mi(^-f<»urth as 

 large as the calyx; calyx lobes lanceolate, acuminate*; legume 

 lin(;ar, pulx^scent. (Section Tehnatea Thuith.) 1. C. fcrnalea. 



Leaflets only 3. (Section Xeur<)( ahpom Renlh,) 



Stem twirung; leaflets acute. 2. C*. rithiginosa 



llhizome woody; stem erect, nearly simple, asccncling; hnif- 

 lets obtus(^, retuse, or emarginate. 3, C. lauri/oUa, 



L Clitoria ternatea T;. 



p 



p 



(IVban, 2W).) 



m 



Herbaceous, euffrutescent; stem twining; leaflets 2 to 3 cm. long, about L5 cm. 

 wide; pedTincle 2 to 4 mm. long; flowers large, resupinate, blue and white; calyx 1.5 

 cm. deep; standard 5 cm. long; pod to 13 cm. long, 1 cm. wide. 



Cultivated and seemingly wild near Bayamon; near Fajardo in Bromelia copse 

 toward the sea; ni^ar Mayaguez, toward Guanajibo. — Bahama, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, 

 St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John (Eggers), St. Barllndomew (Stockliolm Herbarium), 



