176 Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 



swollen base of each persistent; peduncles exceeding the subtending 

 leaves; racemes 5-10 flowered; pedicels very short, a group of swollen 

 nectaries at the base of each ; calyx green, sparsely puberulent, 10-12 mm. 

 long, the upper lobes rounded at apex and united except for a small 

 emargination, the three lower lobes small, subequal, triangular, acute; 

 corolla pink; standard erect, broadly oval, deeply notched at apex, white 

 in the center, the sides recurved, 2 cm. long; wings closely enveloping 

 the keel, 1.5 cm. long; keel blunt at apex ; pods much compressed, curved 

 into a semicircle, 6-10 cm. long, 2.5 cm. broad, wax-yellow when imma- 

 ture, brown when ripe, finely white puberulent, the longitudinal ridges 

 small, the two posterior close to the dorsal suture, the other two parallel 

 and distant one-fifth of the width of the pod; seeds oval in outline, com- 

 pressed, 12-18 mm. long, wax-brown, the linear black hilum four-fifths 

 as long. 



The peculiar pods well distinguish it from any other species as yet 

 described. 



The seed of this plant was sent to the U. R. Department of Agriculture 

 by John R. Bovell, Esq., Department of Agriculture, Bridgetown, 

 Barbados, under the name " Babricou bean." In Antigua it has been 

 used as a green manure crop. Presumably it is native to the West Indian 

 region. It has been tested at various places in Florida and Mississippi, 

 but has shown little promise of having value in those States. 



Type specimen in the Economic Herbarium, United States Department 

 of Agriculture. 



Canavalia microcarpa, (DC. ) n. comb. 



Lablab microcarpus DC. Prodr. 2:402.1825. 



Canavalia turgida Graham; Gray in U. S. Expl. Exped. 15:440.1854. 



Lablab microcarpus De Candolle is based on Plate 141, Fig. 1, of 

 Rumphius' "Herbarium Amboinense," which illustration and the ac- 

 companying description apply well to the species usually known as C. 

 turgida Graham. 



Canavalia obtusifolia (Lam.) DC. Prodr. 2:404.1825. 



Dolichos obtusifolius Lam. Enc. 2:295.1786. 



Lamarck's description is based primarily on a plant from the island of 

 "St. Domingue" that is Santo Domingo, of which he had specimens. 

 In addition he cites as synonymous several earlier descriptions of Tourne- 

 fort, Plumier and Plukenet, and doubtfully includes the " Katu-tjandi" 

 of Rheede, Hort. Mai. 8:83. tab. 43. 



De Candolle' s name is based on that of Lamarck, but after a brief de- 

 scription of the plant he adds "in Malabaria. — Rheed. mal. 8. t. 43," 

 indicating apparently that he regarded Rheede' s plant as the type of the 

 species. Rheede's plant is in reality the same as Canavalia turgida 

 Graham, a species that does not occur in the West Indies, whence La- 

 marck's type was derived. There is consequently no justification for 

 considering C. obtusifolia and C. turgida synonymous as has been done 

 by King (Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 662:63.1898). 



