282 LEGUMINOS JE. POINCIANA. 
fi. Ind. 2. p. 359.—C. horrida, herb. Madr. ! ; Wall.! L. n. 5836.—C. armata, 
Graham ! in Wall.! L. n. 5840.—Rheed. Mal. 6. t. 8.——Mysore. Malabar. 
873. (6) C. sepiaria (Roxb. :) scandent: branches and petioles armed with 
short strong sharp recurved prickles: pinnæ of the leaves 6-10 pair; leaflets 
8-12 pair, linear-oblong, obtuse, when young slightly villous, afterwards 
more glabrous: petioles pubescent : stipules broad, semi-sagittate: racemes 
axillary, solitary: calyx coloured, the segments soon reflexed: legumes li- 
near-oblong, glabrous, with a long cuspidate point, 4-8-seeded.— Rob. ff. 
Ind. 2. p. 360; in E. I. C. mus. tab. 1240; Wall.! L. n. 5834 ; Wight! cat. 
n. 617.—Reichardia? decapetala, Roth, nov. sp. p. 212 (descr. bad); DC. 
prod 2. p. 484; Spr. syst. 2. p. 832. Mysore. Cunnawady. 
LXXVII. POINCIANA.  Linn.; Lam. ill. t. 833 ; Gertn. fr. 2. t. 150. 
Sepals 5, equal or unequal, united below into a cup-shaped somewhat per- 
sistent base. Petals 5, stipitate ; the upper one shaped differently from the 
others. Stamens 10, distinct, much longér than the petals, all fertile: fila- 
ments ascending and hairy at the base. Style very long. Legume unarmed, 
flat-compressed, wingless, 2-valved, several-seeded, intercepted internally be- 
tween the seeds. Seeds obovate, compressed. Cotyledons flat.—Shrubs or 
trees, prickly or unarmed. Leaves abruptly bipinnated. Flowers large and 
very elegant, corymbosely panicled. 
. We only retain this genus in deference to other botanists, but we know of no cer- 
tain character to distinguish it from the last, except the greater length of the sta- 
mens and style; formerly it was characterised by havin mbriated petals, but P. 
Gilliesii has them only slightly so, and in P. insignis, H. B. K., and P. compressa, 
Mog. and Sesse, they are quite entire. Mr G. Don, in Mill. dict. 2. p. 433, refers to 
this genus Cesalp. inermis of Roxburgh (f. Ind. 2. p. 366), and describes it with 
fimbriated petals. Perhaps this genus might be retained for P. elata alone, on ac 
count of its great difference in the calyx from all the others. 
874. (1) P. pulcherrima (Linn.:) shrubby, armed : leaflets obovate-oblong, 
retuse or emarginate: flower-buds obovate, obtuse: calyx glabrous on both 
sides ; sepals obtuse, unequal, the lower one vaulted ; sestivation imbricative: 
petals fringed, on long claws: ovary glabrous—Linn.! sp. p. 554 ; DC. prod. 
2. p. 484; Wall.! L. n. 5913: Wight ! cat. n. 621.—Ceesalpinia pulcherrima, 
Swartz, obs. p. 165; Spr. syst. 2. p. 544.— Rheed. Mal. 6. t. 1. 
875. (2) P. elata (Linn.:) arboreous, unarmed: leaflets linear, obtuse: 
flower-buds obovate-oblong, acute : calyx more or less pubescent or shortly 
villous, particularly on the inside ; sepals coriaceous, equal, lanceolate, acute; 
sestivation valvular!: petals fringed ; ovary villous.— Linn. sp. p. 554 ; D C. 
prod. 2. p. 484; Wall.! L.n. 5812; Wight! cat. n. 622, 623.—Csesalpinia 
elata, Swartz, obs. p. 166.—Coromandel and Malabar. j 
We are not aware that any botanist has noticed the valvular sestivation of 
the calyx; but this merely arises from its coriaceous nature, and being des- 
titute of the thin and almost membranous overlapping margins of the other 
species. The petals are decidedly imbricated as in the tribe. 
LXXVIII. MEZONEURUM. Desf. 
Sepals unequal, combined below into a cup-shaped somewhat persistent 
base ; lower one the longest, and sometimes vaulted. Petals 5, unguiculate, 
unequal. Stamens 10, distinct, villous towards the base. Style curved. 
Legume unarmed, somewhat foliaceous, compressed, ovate-oblong, indehis- 
cent, 1-celled, few-seeded, with a broad foliaceous margin or wing along the 
seminiferous suture.—Trees or shrubs, more or less armed. Leaves abruptly 
bipinnated. Petioles prickly. Flowers racemose or panicled. 
