378 DiADELPHiA DECANDRiA. Indlgofera. 



tivated in a good soil it is often five or six feet high. Branches 

 many, nearly erect, scattered, striated from the insertion of the 

 leaves, three small ridges running down from each ; entirely 

 covered with great nundjers of short, depressed, white iiairs, 

 wlwch make the plants quite hoary ; these may be easily rub- 

 bed off, leaving the branches, &c. smooth, clear and green. 

 Leaves alternate, somewhat bifarious, numerous, approximat- 

 ed, pinnate with an odd one ; about four inches long. Leaf- 

 lets short-petioled, opposite, from three to five pairs, pale 

 green, fleshy, the lower smallest, all obcordate, slightly emar- 

 ginate with a minute bristle, above pretty smooth, but pale 

 coloured ; many short depressed white hairs cover the under 

 side, which make it still of a fainter green than the upper 

 side,but nothing like down on any parts of the plant, from one 

 to two inches long, and about three quarters broad. Petioles 

 covered with the same small, depressed, white hairs, channel- 

 led. Stipules awled, small. Racemes axillary, sessile, erect, 

 shorter than the leaves, many-flowered. Floioers numerous, 

 small, yellow and red. Calyx ; divisions short, acute, equal. 

 Banner and A;ee/ hairy ; of a greenish-yellow, margins of the 

 former involute. Wings of a pale rose colour, linear-oblong, 

 processes of the keel remarkably large. Legumes numerous, 

 ref^exed, falcate, round, short, covered with the same hairs 

 as the branches, and contracted a little between the seeds. 

 Seeds generally three, smooth, like those of I. tinctorea. 



This species comes near to Indigojera argentea, Linn, the 

 chief differences are, that in this plant there is a total want of 

 down ; the leaves are never ternate, but always composed of 

 from three to five pair of leaflets, with a larger single termi- 

 nal one ; and the legumes are very numerous on the same 

 racemes. 



From the leaves of this plant 1 have often extracted a 

 most beautiful, light Indigo ; more so than I ever could from 

 the common Indigo plant, or even from Jferium tinctorium, 

 and in a large proportion. After an enquiry of nearly two 

 years, 1 have not been able to discover that the natives of any 



