P^LORA OF SEYCHELLES AND ALDABRA 11 



nunc unifoliolatis intermixtis, foliolis orbicularibus vel ovalibus 

 basi rotundatis vel leviter cordatis 1-3 cm. latis. Flores absunt. 



Make : Only one plant found, Home, 287. 



This is the plant mentioned by Baker (Flora, p. 75) as most 

 likely D. ascendens Sw. (Oliver, Fl. trop. Afr. ii, p. 162), but it is 

 quite different in foliage from D. ascendens. Balfour (Bot. Eod- 

 riguez, p. 36) collected exactly the same thing in the same con- 

 dition in Eodriguez. De Candolle describes the leaves of his plant, 

 a native of Madagascar, in the following words : " foliis aliis uni- 

 foliolatis aliis trifoliolatis, foholis ovalibus supra glabris subtus in 

 nervis puberulis, terminali duplo triplove majore." These words 

 so W'ell describe the leaves of the plant from Seychelles and 

 Eodriguez that I have little doubt respecting the correctness of 

 my identification. The only discrepancy is in the relative size of 

 the lateral and terminal leaflets ; the terminal one never being 

 even quite twice the size of the lateral, in the specimens cited. 



Desmodium heterophyllum DC. Prodr. ii, 331, D. trifloriwi 

 var. heteropliylhim Baker, Flora, 75 ; Hook. Fl. Brit. Ind. ii, 173. 



Seychelles : Bojer. 



Baker records this from Seychelles as well as from Mauritius ; 

 but I have not seen the specimens. It is common in the Western 

 Peninsula of India and occurs in Ceylon, and Thwaites (Enum. 

 PI. Zeyl. 86) gives it specific rank, which seems fully justifiable, 

 as it is easily distinguished from D. triflorum. 



Abrus precatorius L. ; Baker, Flora, 78 ; Balfour, Bot. 

 Eodriguez, 36; Hemsl., Bot. Voy. Chall. i, pt. 3, 140; Cordemoy, 

 FL Eeunion, 389. A. imlcheUus Baker, Flora, 79, non Wall. 



Mahe : Victoria Eegion, Gardiner. Silhouette : Mare aux 

 Cochons, Gardiner, 139. 



The leafless specimen collected by Home and referred by Baker 

 to A. imlchellus is A. 'precatorius, if the character of few^er 

 seeds holds good. Several young pods examined contained only 

 five seeds each. 



Tephrosia aldabrensis J. E. Drumm. et Hemsl., sp. n. ; 

 species inter minores, 15-35 cm. alta, densissime ramosa, ramis 

 fere filiformibus. 



Herba nana, pubescens, glabrescens, ramis tenuissimis 

 fiexuosis. Folia sgepissime 7- vel 9-foliolata, 3-5 cm. longa, 

 breviter graciliterque petiolata ; foliola brevissime petiolulata, 

 oblongo-lanceolata, 0'5-l*5 cm. longa, apiculata ; stipulae 

 minutae, cito deciduae. Eacemi breves, saepe 6-flori, folia breviter 

 excedentes. Flores distincte pedicellati, circiter 1 cm. longi. 

 Calyx strigillosus ; tubus hemisphaericus ; lobi fere aequales, 

 subulati, quam tubum vix longiores. Petala puberula, fere aequi- 

 longa, longuiscule unguiculata ; vexillum rotundatum, latius quam 

 longum. Ovarium parce pilosulum, stylo complanato, apice 

 cristate. Legumen rectum, 2-3 cm. longum, glabrescens, ssepius 

 10-spermum. Semina subglobosa, circiter 2 mm. diametro, rugulosa, 

 nigro-punctata. — T. purpurea, Baker in Kew Bull., 1891, 117, non 

 Pers. 



