CLASS X. 



DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



SOPHORA. Schreb gen. N. 694. 



Cahjx gibbous, five-toothed. Carol papilionaceous, 

 wings length of the vexillum. Legume necklace-shaped. 



1. S. tomentosa. Willd. 2. 500. 



Shrubby. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets about eight pair, 

 between alternate and opposite, ovate, obtuse, hoary un- 

 dernea.th. Legume necklace-shaped. 



This large shrub, or small tree, is so far as I can learn, 

 a native ot" Ceylon. From thence it was introduced into 

 the Botanic garden at Calcutta in 1798, by Dr. A. Berry. 

 Flowering time in Bengal the rainy season. 



Trunk erect, with expanding branches. Bark of the 

 old woody parts somewhat scabrous, of the young 

 shoots hairy. Leaves alternate, pinnate, from six to ten 

 inches long. Leaflets about eight pair, short- petioled, 

 neither alternate nor opposite but between the two; ovate, 

 obtuse, entire, of a firm texture, smooth above and hoary 

 underneath ; from an inch to an inch and a half long, 

 and about one broad. Petioles and petiolets round, and 

 villous. Stipules none. Racemes terminal. Flowers nu- 

 merous, generally single, bright yellow, fragrant. Bractes 

 solitary, one-flowered, caducous. Calyx villous, of a 

 short urceolate shape, with the margin slightly five-tooth- 

 ed, and incurved. Carol papilionaceous. Legume neck- 

 lace-shaped, villous, composed of about five or six near- 

 ly round protuberances, with a single, round, brown, 

 smooth seed in each. 



