STIZOLOBIUM DEEEINGIANUM. 11 



STIZOLOBIUM DEERINGIANUM. 



Stizolobium deeringianum Bort. a Florida velvet bean. (PI. II, B.) 



An annual, herbaceous, climbing vine, sometimes 20 meters in length when growing 

 on supports, and even on the ground attaining a length of from 2 to 6 meters, bearing 

 long, pendent racemes of purple flowers which produce dark, velvety pods 5 or 6 

 centimeters long. Stems rather slender, terete, sparsely pubescent with white, 

 appressed hairs, especially on the ridges. Petioles equaling or exceeding the leaflets, 

 pubescent like the stem, and continued for 2 to 4 centimeters beyond the lateral 

 leaflets; stipules subulate, pubescent, about 1 centimeter long; stipels similar but 

 smaller; petiolules about 5 millimeters long, stout, very pubescent. Leaflets rhom- 

 boid-ovate, the lateral ones oblique, membranaceous, acuminate-cuspidate, 5 to 15 

 centimeters long, about half as broad, sparsely pubescent above, especially on the 

 veins, more densely pubescent beneath, the white hairs closely appressed. In- 

 florescence a raceme or thyrsus 15 to 30 centimeters long, pendent, bearing 5 to 30 

 flowers, usually about 12; rachis like the stem, but more pubescent; flowers borne 

 singly or in twos or threes on short lateral branchlets. Bracts lanceolate-subulate, 

 very pubescent, early fugacious. Calyx pubescent within and without with short, 

 white, appressed hairs, 2 lipped, the upper lip broadly triangular, the lower lip 3 cleft, 

 the lobes triangular-subulate, the middle one longest; stinging hairs absent. Corolla 

 dark purple, 3 to 4 centimeters long; standard less than half the length of the keel, 

 darker than the rest of the flower; wings slightly shorter than the keel, rather broad, 

 oblanceolate-oblong, obtuse; keel straight to near the tip, where it curves sharply 

 upward, the tip firm and acute; anthers of two sorts, alternately long and short, the 

 latter on much broader filaments; ovary linear, pubescent; style filiform, pubescent 

 nearly to the tip; stigma small. Pods when mature 5 to 6 centimeters long, turgid, 

 densely covered with a soft, nearly black, velvety pubescence without stinging 

 hairs; valves with 1 or 2 or Sometimes 3 obscure longitudinal ridges. Seeds 3 to 5 

 in each pod, subglobose, marbled and speckled with brown or black, and sometimes 

 both, on ash-gray ground color (though pure gray and, it is said, pure black occur 

 rarely), 1 to 1.5 centimeters in diameter. Hilum white, oblong-crateriform, less than 

 one-half the length of the seed. 



*s > 



The leaflets of this species are abruptly mucronate from a usually 

 obtuse apex. 



This is the well-known species which has been so long cultivated 

 in Florida. Its importance in late years has grown rapidly, and it is 

 now much more cultivated than ever before. The principal objection 

 to it is the long season required for maturing, which has in a large 

 measure militated against its cultivation farther north. It will, 

 however, make a very large growth of vines as far north as Virginia 

 and Kentucky, but rarely matures its seed north of Florida. It is 

 not well adapted as a hay plant on account of its extreme vininess, 

 and where it does not produce pods is of only limited usefulness. 

 Like all of the stizolobiums it is absolutely immune to the wilt which 

 affects so many other legumes and also to root-knot caused by 

 nematodes. In all of the time this plant has been under cultivation in 

 Florida the only variant produced is one having white or nearly 



179 



a Bulletin 141, pt. 3, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1909, p. 31. 



