170 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



28. CROTAIiARIA L. 



Crotalaria L. Sp. PI. 2: 714. 1753. 

 Olavulium Desv. Ann. Sc. Nat. 9: 407. 1826. 

 Maria- Antonia Parl. Mar. Ant. Nov. Gen. 3. 1844. 



Calyx laciniae free or more rarely the two upper ones and the three lower ones more 

 or less united; standard orbicular, more rarely ovate, usually callous above the short 

 claw; wings oblong or obovate, shorter than the standard; keel incurved or angled, 

 terminating inwards in a straight or incurved beak, rarely almost obtuse and not 

 beaked; stamens all united in a sheath open along the upper side; anthers alternately 

 long and erect and short and versatile^ ovary sessile or distinctly stalked, with 2 or 

 more ovules; style much incurved or suddenly bent inward, with a longitudinal line 

 of hairs above the middle on the inner side; stigma terminal; pod round or oblong, 

 turgid or inflated, 2-valved, continuous within; seeds with a filiform funiculus. 

 Herbs, shrubs-, or undershrubs; leaves alternate, simple or digitately compound with 

 usually 3, rarely 1 or 5 or 7 leaflets; stipules free from the petiole, occasionally decur- 

 rent along the stem, sometimes large and foliaceous, sometimes small, rarely wanting; 

 flowers yellow, more rarely blue or purple, in simple racemes terminal, becoming 

 sometimes leaf-opposed, more rarely solitary; bracteoles small, on the peduncle or 

 adnate to the calyx tube, rarely wanting. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



Leaves simple (Section Simplicifoliae Benth.). 



Stipules foliaceous, broadly decurrent, with a semilunar, incurved 

 top; leaves oval or oblong, sessile or subsessile; peduncle lat- 

 eral, elongated, few-flowered; calyx 5-parted, usually as long 

 as the corolla. 



Peduncles reaching 10 cm.; flowers many; leaves reaching 7 



cm.; pods stipitate. 

 Peduncles short, about 3-flowered; leaves 5 cm. long; pod 

 subsessile. 

 Stipules wanting; leaves cuneate-oblong, shortly petioled, refuse 

 or very obtuse or faintly mucronate at the top; flowers in lax 

 terminal, elongated, many-flowered racemes; calyx bilabiate, 

 exceeded by the corolla. 

 Leaves digitately trifoliolate (Section Tripoliolatae Baker). 



Racemes both lateral and terminal, laxly G to 12-flowered, 5 to 10 

 cm. long, on peduncles 2.5 to 10 cm. long; corolla bright yel- 

 low; leaflets obovate or orbicular, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, the com- 

 mon petiole 4.5 to 5.5 cm. long; pod oblong, broad, turgid, 

 clothed with fine spreading hairs like those of stem. 

 Flowers 1 to 4 together in the axils of many of the leaves, if more 

 than one racemose or umbellate; corolla yellow, faintly veined; 

 leaflets elliptical-lanceolate, 1 to 2 cm. long, 7 to 9 mm. wide, 

 common petiole 2 to 3.5 cm. long; peduncles short, 5 mm. long; 

 pod glabrescent. 



I . Crotalaria stipularia Desv. 



(Urban, 280.) 



Annual, erect, 0.33 meter high or higher; Leaflets oval or oblong, 2.5 to 7 cm. long, 

 1 to 2.25 cm. wide, sessile, subhirsute-pubescenl on both sides; peduncle 5 cm. long; 

 flowers yellow, small; calyx 5-parted, usually as long as the corolla, fulvopilose; 



1. C. stipularia, 



2. ( '. sagittalis. 



3. C. retusa. 



4. C. incana. 



('. lot ifolia. 



