PERKINS THE LEGUMINOSAE OF PORTO RICO. 189 



4d. Desmodium axillare sintenisii Urb. 



(Urban, 292.) 



Pubescence of the stem very short; leaflets ovate, long-acuminate; flowers white; 

 pod articulations 9 to 10 mm. long, 6.5 to 7 mm. wide. 



Sierra de Luquillo, halfway to the top of Mount Jimenez; Sierra de Yabucoa, in the 

 primeval forests of Mount Cerro Gordo and Mcvunt Sombrero. Haiti. 



5. Desmodium supinum (Sw.) DC. 

 (Urban, 290.) 



A diffuse undershrub 60 to 90 cm. high, branches finely gray-pubescent upward; 

 stipules connate to the middle, at length subdistinct, lanceolate, scarious; leaflets 3, 

 central one oblong or obovate, 7.5 to 10 cm. long, generally under half as broad, its 

 petiolule short, its stipellae minute; lateral leaflets smaller and more rounded at the 

 base, subcoriaceous, the upper surface glabrous, the lower thinly and finely pubescent; 

 calyx 2.2 mm. deep, the teeth lanceolate, reaching halfway down; corolla red, becom- 

 ing blue or pale purple, 6.5 to 8.5 mm. deep; pod 2.5 cm. long, 3 mm. wide, with 5 to 

 8 articulations, which are considerably longer than broad. 



Near Bayamon in grassy places; near Fajardo along roads and in the river valley 

 toward the mountains; near Juncos along roads; near Maunabo at Punta Tuna; near 

 Cayey at Quebrada Arriba in thickets; near Cabo Rojo along roads around Puerto 

 Real; near Mayaguez. Bahama, Cuba, Jamaica, Cayman (Hitchcock), Haiti, St. 

 Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, St. Martin (Stockholm Herbarium), St. Bartholomew 

 (do.), St. Kitts, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Vincent, Bequia 

 I Kew Bull. no. 81, p. 245), Barbados, Grenada, Tobago, Trinidad (Grisebach), 

 Margarita. 



A common tropical American species, occurring also in Africa and the Mauritius. 



Local name, zarzabacoa. 



5a. Desmodium supinum angustifolium (Griseb.) Urb. 



(Urban, 291.) 



Plant 1 to 1.5 meters high; flowers conspicuous, pale blood-red or pale purple. 



Between Aibonito and Coamo, near Algarrobo, in thickets; near Coamo, in the valley 

 of El Tendal River; near Rincon, on shady mountains at Barrio del Pueblo. Cuba, 

 Haiti, Antigua (Grisebach). 



6. Desmodium albiflorum Salzm. 

 (Urban, 292.) 



Stem diffuse, 15 to 30 cm. high; leaves sometimes widely, sometimes narrowly ovate, 

 about 2.5 mm. long, obtuse or rarely somewhat acute, membranous; stipules cordate, 

 acuminate, free or at the back connate; flowers white; calyx about 2.2 mm. deep, 

 petals 6.5 mm. long; pod subsessile, its articulations indefinite in number, usually 5 

 or (i, these when mature 6.5 mm. long, 4.4 mm. wide. 



Near Cayey, in coffee plantations at Pedro Avila; near Coamo, in coffee plantations 

 at Farrajones. Mexico, Central America, Ecuador, and Brazil (Bentham, Hemsley). 



7. Desmodium wydlerianum Urb. 

 (Urban, 292.) 



Perennial (?), procumbent below, rooting at the nodes, ascending above, shortly 

 pubescent; leaflets triangular-ovate or rhomboid, acuminate, subtruncate at the base, 



