

Besmodiiim.] XL. LEGUMlNOSyE. • 231 



late, indeliiscent.— i>. aiistrale, DC. Prod. ii. 326 ; DendrohUum unihllatim, 

 W. and Arn. Prod. 224 (under Desinodium) ; Benth. in PL Jungli. 16; Or- 

 mocarjium ohlongum, Desv. in Ann. Soc. Linn. 1825, 307. 



Queensland. Baruard Isles, WGUluray ; Port Deuison and Edgecumlbe Bay, I>al- 

 lachy, also in R. Brown's Collection. The species is widely spread over East India and 

 the Archipelago. 



2. D. pulchellum, Benth. Fl. Ilongk. 83. A tall branching perennial 

 or underslirub, the branches pubescent or villous* Leaflets 3, ovate, obtuse, 

 the margins sometimes slightly sinuate, the terminal one usually 3 to 4 in. 

 long, the lateral ones smaller, till slightly pubescent or nearly glabrous above, 

 softly pubescent underneath. Plovvers small, in dense umbels or heads, ses- 

 sile along the branches of a large terminal leafv panicle, each umbel almost 

 enclosed in a 2-foliolate leaf-like bract at its ba'se, each leaflet broadly ovate 

 or orbicular, | to f in. long and very oblique at the base. Pod usually of 3 

 flat nearly orbicular small articles, glabrous or nearly so except a few hau-s 

 along the edge, both edges of the pod, especially the"^ lower one, indented be- 

 tneen the seeds.—Dicerma jjulcMlum, DC. Prod. ii. 339- Wight, Ic. t. 418 ; 

 P^llodiim pulcJiellum, Desv. ; Benth. in PI. Juugh. 217. 



N. Australia. N. coast, R. Brmcn. Widely spread over East India and the Archi- 

 .Pelago, extending northwards to S. China. 



8. D. biarticulatum, F. Muell. Fragm: ii. 121. A rigid undershrub 

 vfith prostrate decumbent or almost erect branches of 1 to 2 or rarely 3 ft., 

 [he young shoots softly pubescent or silky. Leaflets 3, oblone: or on the lower 

 leaves narrow-obovate, i to 1 or rarely Ii in. long, rt 

 nearly so at the end of a stiff short petiole. Stipules brown, searious, more 

 or less united opposite the leaf. Plowers small, red, crowded or distant in a 

 long narrow terminal raceme. Pedicels short, usually 2 together. Bracts 

 narrow, acuminate, rigid and striate. Calyx, about 2 lines long, the lobes 

 rather longer than the tube, the 2 upper ones united nearly to the top. Pe- 

 ws twice as long; wings scarcely adhering to the keel, which has not the 

 lateral appendages of most Desmodia. Ovary with only 2 ovules. Pod ses- 

 sue, flat, silky-pubescent ; articles 2 or rarely 1, nearly orbicular, not 2 hues 

 fiiameter, reticulate and indehisccnt.— i)/cm«a biarticulatum,VO.Vtoii.n.- 



•339; Wight, let. 419. 



riv^' ■^''^*^alia- Brunswick Bay, N.W. coast, A. Canningkam ; Albert and Nieolsoa 



«fs, i. ilueller ; islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, R. Brown, Henne. . 



In^' ^^<?''^*"'^- B"i'<3ekin river, F. Mueller ; Bowen river, Bowman. Common m J-.. . 

 india. Several of the Australian specimens are more erect and taller, with longer st.pules 

 bracts and hracteoles than the Indian ones, but they do not otherwise differ, and others are- 

 PfW'sely hke the Indian form figured by Wight. 



\ D. acanthocladum, F. MuelL Fragm, ii. 122. A glabrous under- 



hrub or small shrub, with numerous slender but rigid angular branches, the 



mailer ones ending in a fine thorn. Leaflets 3, oblong or lanceolate the 



erannal one \ to 1 in. long, the lateral ones smaller, the common petiole 



^J- ; Stipides small. Flowering branches reduced to axillarj' leafless spmes, 



J ua% shorter than the leaves, and bearing 1 or 2 pairs or clusters of flowers 



"^^^ lie extremity. Pedicels short. Bracts vciy small. Flowers about 4 



.lines long. Calyx-lobc3 about as long as the tube. Wings strongly adhering 



rather rigid, digitate or 



