- LEGUMINOSAE 249 
Calyx campanulate, 2-lipped, subequally 5-toothed. Corolla exserted, the 
standard very broad, the keel shorter than the wings. Stamens diadel- 
phous, the mouth of the tube truncate. Ovary many-ovuled; style thick, 
compressed. Pods strongly inflated, the valves rather thin. Seeds several, 
globose. (From the ancient Greek name.) 
Species 6 in Europe and Asia, a single cultivated one in the Philippines. 
*1. P. sativum L. Chicharo (Sp.); Pea. 
An ascending, somewhat glaucous, glabrous, annual plant 0.5 m high or 
less. Leaves alternate, ending in branched tendrils; leaflets 4 or 6, oblong 
or elliptic-oblong, blunt or apiculate, 1.5 to 2.5 cm long, the stipules larger 
than the leaflets, obliquely oblong or ovate, up to 3 cm long, base denticulate, 
rounded and half-clasping the stem. Flowers write, 1.5 to 2 cm long. Pods 
inflated, 4 to 8 em long. 
Grown from imported seed for the local market, fl. Dec.-Apr. A native 
of Europe, now cultivated in all temperate and some tropical countries. 
38. ABRUS Linnaeus 
Slender, climbing, somewhat woody vines with odd-pinnate leaves. Leaf- 
lets small, numerous. Racemes rather dense, peduncled, axillary, many- 
flowered. Flowers small, pink or purplish. Calyx-teeth short. Standard 
ovate, below adhering to the staminal-tube; wings narrow; keel arched. 
Stamens 9, the filaments united in a tube which is slit above, the 10th 
wanting. Ovary many-ovuled, style short. Pod oblong, flat or turgid; 
seeds black or black and red. (Greek “elegant,” in allusion to the shining 
red and black seeds.) 
Species about 5, cosmopolitan in the tropics, 2 in the Philippines. 
Pods oblong, turgid, 2.5 to 5 cm long, 3- to 6-seeded, the seeds red and black. 
1. A. precatorius 
Pod narrowly-oblong, thin, flat, 6 to 8 cm long, 6- to 12-seeded, the seeds black. 
2. A. laevigatus 
1. A. precatorius L. Saga, Saga-saga (Tag.). 
A slender, scandent, branched, annual vine reaching a length of 9 m or 
less, sparingly pubescent or nearly glabrous. Leaves 5 to 10 cm long. 
Leafiets 20 to 40, oblong, mucronate, thin, 1 to 3 cm long. Racemes axillary, 
usually shorter than the leaves. Flowers numerous, often crowded, pink 
to pale-purple or salmon, about 1 em long. Pods oblong, turgid, 2.5 
to 5 em long, about 1.5 cm wide. Seeds 3 to 5, shining, 6 mm long, half 
black, half scarlet. (FI. Filip. pl. 156.) 
In thickets, occasional, fl. Aug—Apr.; common and widely distributed 
in the Philippines, possibly introduced. Tropics generally. 
2. A. laevigatus E. Mey. (A. pulchellus Wall.). 
A slender twining vine reaching a height of 1.5 to 3 m. Leaves 5 to 10 
. em long, the leaflets 8 to 16 pairs, oblong, rounded, apiculate, 1 to 2.5 em 
long, slightly pubescent beneath. Flowers numerous, pink, 7 to 8 mm long. 
Pod thin, flat, smooth, somewhat curved, 6 to 8 cm long. Seeds 6 to 12, 
black. 
In thickets, San Pedro Macati, fi. Oct.-Dec.; widely distributed in the 
Philippines. India to Africa and Malaya. 
