LEGUMINOSiE. 293 



an awn glabrous, racemes opposite to a leaf, legumes 

 pubescent 7-S times longer than broad. 



Doliclios altissimus, Jacq. Amer. 203. t. 182. f. 85. — Mucuna 

 altissima, De Ca?id. Prod. II. 405. 



HAB. Common in Avoods. Poit-Royal and St John's Hills. 



FL. August, September. 



Climbing' to a great height on trees, and suspending from thence 

 its long pendulous branches, adorned with racemes of beautiful 

 flowers. Leaflets irregular in their shape, elliptic or oblong, 

 somewhat obovate, emarginate, obtuse with an awn, glabrous. 

 Racemes opposite to a leaf, 6-12 inches long, simple. Pedun- 

 cle subterete, slightly angulose : flowers purple, showy, very 

 shortly pedicelled, 3 together, inserted on a subglobose fleshy 

 excrescence. Calyx 2-lipped, subglabrous ; under lip 3-fid, 

 with the middle lobe tooth-like and the lateral ones obtuse, 

 approximating; upper lip sub-bilobed from the apex being 

 reflected ; lobes rounded. Standard reflected, purple, rounded, 

 emarginate ; wings sliort, revolute, adhering at their middle to, 

 and of the same colour as the keel, which is dipetalous but 

 united at the apex. Stamens submonadelphous : anthers oval. 

 Ovary oblong, appresso-pubescent : style longer than the fila- 

 ments : stigma obtuse. Legume 7-8 inches long, and 1 broad, 

 compressed, slightly curved, uncinate at the apex, pubescent 

 with appressed hairs ; a grooved keel along the back, and a 

 parallel sharp keel on each side at the distance of rather less 

 than half an inch from the back: seeds 11 in number, oval, 

 compressed, of a dirty white ; hilum linear. 



Jacquin describes this species as common in the woods of 

 Martinique. 



XXVIII. Mucuna. CowitcJu 



Calyx campanulate, bilabiate : inferior lip 3-fid, 

 with the divisions acute, and the middle one more pro- 

 duced ; upper lip broad, entire, obtuse. Standard 

 assurgent, shorter than the wings or keel ; wings 

 oblong, length of the keel ; keel oblong, straight, 

 acute. Stamens diadelphous ; 5 of the anthers ob- 

 longo-linear ; 5 ovate, hirsute. Legume oblong, to- 

 rose, bivalve, with cellulose partitions : seeds roundish, 

 cinctured circularly with a linear hilum. — De Cand. 



Herbs or shrubs, ascending to a considerable height : leaves 

 pinnato-trifoliate ; racemes axillary, generally pendulous ; le- 

 gumes usually luspid with innumerable very fragile hairs readily 

 penetrating the skin and stinging. — Mucuna is the Indian riame 

 of the following species. 



