FABACEjE, OR LEGUMINOSjE. 



pinnate ; leaflets generally about 13, oval, entire, obtuse, slightly emar- 

 ginate, viscid ; stipules inconspicuous. Flowers pale lilac in axillary, 

 erect, stalked racemes. Legumes compressed, smooth. — The roots 

 abound in a saccharine mucilaginous matter, which is slightly bitter, 

 and readily soluble in water. A powder and the well known common 

 extract, are prepared from it ; the decoction in different forms is a 

 common remedy for coughs, and hectic or phthisical cases. 



501. G. echinata Linn, sp.pl. 1046. has a root with similar 

 properties, but in a less degree. 



TEPHROSIA. 



Calyx without bractlets, about equally 5-toothed or 5-cleft. 

 Vexillum large, roundish, usually silky or pubescent on the out- 

 side, spreading or reflexed : keel obtuse, cohering with the alae. 

 Stamens variously united, monadelphous, or diadelphous, the 

 upper filament sometimes half-united with the others. Style 

 filiform. Stigma terminal. Legume generally sessile, and flatly 

 compressed, linear, many-seeded: valves usually flat. Seeds 

 compressed. — Shrubs or herbaceous plants, erect, or rarely 

 climbing ? Stipules free from the petiole, lanceolate or subu- 

 late, never sagittate. Leaves unequally pinnated, sometimes 

 reduced to a single leaflet. Racemes terminal, axillary, or op- 

 posite to the leaves. Flowers white or purplish. W. and A. 



502. T. purpurea Pers. synops. ii. 329. DC. prodr. ii. 250. 

 W. and A. i. 213. Galega purpurea Linn, amcen. iii. p. 19. 



(Burm. zeyl. lxxvii. t. 32.) Sandy lands on the coast of Co- 



romandel. 



Shrubby, somewhat erect, much branched ; branches glabrous, pu- 

 bescent, or slightly villous. Leaves pinnated ; leaflets cuneate-oblong 

 or lanceolate ; upper side usually glabrous, under more or less pu- 

 bescent ; stipules subulate from a broad base. Racemes opposite the 

 leaves peduncled, often longer than the leaves, many-flowered. Flowers 

 on pedicels longer than the bracteas, 2-3 together. Calyx pubescent ; 

 segments about the length of the tube, subulate. Corolla about 3 times 

 the length of the calyx tube : vexillum silky, bent back from near its 

 base. Legumes slightly compressed, spreading, linear, slightly falcate, 

 obtuse with a short point, at length pubescent or glabrous. W. $ A. 

 — Root bitter ; a decoction prescribed by Indian doctors in dyspepsia, 

 lientery and tympanitis. 



503. T. Apollinea DC. prodr. ii. 254. — Galega Apollinea 

 Delil. (Egypt. 144. t. 53. f. 5. — Egypt and Nubia. 



Suffruticose, spreading, covered with close-pressed down. Leaflets 

 in 2-3 pairs, obovate-oblong, emarginate, silky underneath. Racemes 

 opposite the leaves and of the same length. Legumes erect-spreading, 

 6-7-seeded, minutely downy. DC. — The leaves often found mixed 

 with those of Senna. It is commonly cultivated for its indigo in Nubia, 

 according to Mr. Hoskins. 



244 



