ROSE AND STANDLEY—MEIBOMIA, SECTION NEPHROMERIA. 213 
2. Meibomia mollis (Vahl) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Pl. 198, 1891. Puate 51, d. 
Hedysarum molle Vahl, Symb. Bot. 2: 83. 1791. 
Desmodium molle DC, Prodr. 2: 332. 1825. 
Stems erect, stout, herbaceous, much branched, minutely uncinate-puberulent ; 
petioles 35 mm. long or less, those of the uppermost leaves very short, uncinate- 
puberulent; leaflets 3, ovate to lanceolate, 24 to 70 mm. long, rounded or some- 
times subcordate at the base, acutish, of about the same color on both surfaces, 
sparingly puberulent above, finely soft-pubescent beneath; petiolules 2 or 3 mm, 
long; stipules 4 mm. long, triangular-subulate; inflorescence mostly of axillary 
and terminal simple racemes disposed so as to form a panicle, the racemes 25 
cm. long or less; flowers usually in clusters of 3 or 4, on slender pedicels 6 mm. 
long; bracts short, filiform, villous, deciduous; calyx cleft almost to the base, 
the lobes about equal, lanceolate, puberulent, their tips subulate; corolla green- 
ish yellow, 3 or 4 mm. long; loments sessile, of usually 4 joints, all except the 
terminal one abortive, twisted, densely puberulent; terminal joint elliptic- 
oblong, somewhat narrowed at both ends, 9 mm. long, with a shallow sinus on 
the upper edge, minutely pubescent, with thin, membranous walls. 
Type locality, Island of St. Croix, West Indies. 
Specimens examined: 
Porro Rico: Sandy soil, Culebra, March, 1906, Britton & Wheeler 238; 
Juana-Diaz, “ad vias circa Escalabrado,’’ November 30, 1885, Sintenis 
2900. 
Sr. Crorx: Jerusalem, January 8, 1896, Ricksecker 198. 
Cusa: Limestone hillside, Guantanamo Bay, March, 1909, Britton 1940. 
Costa Rica: Foréts de Nicoya, January, 1900, Tonduz, Inst. Fis. Geogr. 
Costa Riea 13590. 
Mexico: Limestone ledges near Iguala, Guerrero, October 25, 1900, Pringle 
9264: Tomellin Canyon, Oaxaca, September 7, 1906, J. VN. & J. S. Rose 
11327. 
The Mexican specimens differ in having the terminal joint glabrous except 
along the margin, where it is minutely puberulent ; otherwise there seems to be 
no essential difference from West Indian specimens. 
8. Meibomia skinneri (Benth.) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Pl, 198. 1891. PLATE 51, h. 
Desmodium skinneri Benth.; Hemsl. Diag. Pl. Mex. 3: 47. 1880. 
Stems stout, suffrutescent, usually erect, glabrous in age, the younger 
branches with dense, retrorse, soft pubescence, the hairs usually tawny; 
leaves numerous, large, trifoliolate; petioles stout, 5 em. long or less, soft- 
pubescent, striate; stipules lanceolate, 7 or 8 mm. long, deciduous, membrana- 
ceous, strigillose; leaflets ovate to oblong or rhombic-lanceolate, often unequal 
at the base, the terminal one largest and broadest, 12 cm. long or less, acutish 
to obtuse at the apex, rounded at the base, sparingly strigillose above, paler 
and densely velvety-pubescent beneath, the pubescence tawny along the veins, 
elsewhere white; petiolules very short and stout; inflorescence a dense, much 
branched, leafy or naked, terminal panicle, axillary racemes or panicles often 
present, the branches often sparingly uncinate; flowers on filiform pedicels 3 
mm. long; bracts subulate, very short, hirtellous, deciduous; calyx appressed- 
pubescent, scarcely bilabiate, the teeth ovate and acute; corolla deep purple, 
G6 or 7 mm. long; loments of usually 3 joints, raised on a slender stipe 2 or 3 
mm. long; constrictions very narrow; joints semiorbicular, with thin, mem- 
