Tas. 7668. 
ACACIA SPHHEROCEPHALA. 
Native of Mexico. 
Nat. Ord. Lecuminos&.—Tribe AcaciEz. 
Genus Acacia, Willd.; (Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. Plant. vol. i. p. 594.) 
Acacia (Gummifere) spherocephala; frutex rigidus, ramosus, stipulis 
spinescentibus demum maximis 1}-pollicaribus corniformibus rectis 
curvisve ima basi connatis, foliis bi-pinnatis, pinnis 2-3-jugis, foliolis 
- 20-30-jugis oblongis subacutis $-} poll. longis glaberrimis saturate 
viridibus apicibus nudis v. appendicula fusiformi carnosula caduca flavida 
instructis, spicis globosis ochroleucis in paniculas ramosas ramis ramulis- 
que robustis glaberrimis dispositis breviter pedicellatis, floribus densissime 
congestis, squamulis peltatis gracillime stipitatis immixtis, calycis 
urceolati puberuli lobis brevibus rotundatis, corolla calyce paullo longiore 
ore vix lobato, staminibus breviter exsertis. 
A. spherocephala, Cham. § Schlecht. in Linnea, vol. v. (1830), p. 594. 
enth, in Trans, Linn. Soc. vol. xxx. p. 514. Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Am. 
Bot. vol. i. p. 355, 
Acacia No. 12, Mill. Gard. Dict. Ed. ITI. (1737). 
Acacia spinosa, &c., Mill. Fig. Plant. vol. i. p. 4, t. 6 (1755). 
? Mimosa campeachyana, Mill. Gard. Dict. Ed. viii. (1768) No. 20; ed. Martyn, 
No. 75 (1807). 
M. cornigera, Linn. Sp. Pl. p. 520, pro parte. 
Arbor cornigera, Commel. Hort. Med. Amstelod. vol. i. p. 209, t. 207. ~~ 
This is one of the two plants long known in cultivation 
under the name of Mimosa cornigera, the intricate syno- 
nymy of which I have discussed under Acacia spadicigera, 
tab. 7395. Though very different in inflorescence, these 
two species come from the same country, closely resemble 
one another in habit of growth, foliage, the stipules, 
and in the more remarkable character of bearing on 
the tips of some of their leaflets, fleshy, oblong appen- | 
dages, that supply food to stinging ants which nest in 
the accrescent hollow stipules. Under the same tab. I 
have extracted from the late Mr. Belt’s ‘‘ Naturalist in 
Nicaragua,’ that gentleman’s fascinating description of 
the habits of these ants, of which there are at least two 
species belonging to different genera. To that full 
description I must refer for the functions of the organs of 
A, sphexrocephala. 
JuLy Ist, 1899, 
