332 XLVIII. LEGUMINOS.E. 



shorter than the standard. Stamens monadelphous ; anthers uniform. 

 Ovary shortly stipitate ; ovules 2 ; style incurved ; stigma minute, 

 terminal. Pods with 1-2 joints ; joints turgid in the middle with a 

 flat border, reticulately veined, 1-seeded, indehiscent. — Disteib. India, 

 Tropical Africa ; species about 5. 



Flowers not more than one-third as long as the long-bristled bracts. 1. G. cristata. 

 Flowers nearly or quite as loug as the short-bristled bracts 2. G. tenclla. 



\. Geissaspis cristata, ^Yi(Jllt cf- Am. Frodr. (1834) p. 218. A pro- 

 cumbent trailing annual, with densely cfcspitose terete glabrous stems |- 

 2 ft. long. Leaves abruptly-pinnate ; petioles -f^-\ in. long ; stipules 

 scarious, lanceolate, ^V "i- lo"g' continued below the insertion, spurred 

 at the base, strongly nerved, ciliate. Leaflets 4, obovate, 5-I by g-j in., 

 slightly oblique, obtuse, glabrous on both surfaces, narrowed at the base ; 

 nerves prominent beneath ; petiolules very short. Heads of flowers 

 dense, 1 in. or more long ; peduncles axillary ; pedicels short, slender, 

 curved ; bracts reniform, reaching \ in. or even more in breadth, 

 much imbricate, reticulately veined, ciliate with stiff yellow bristles 

 -^V-To ^'^- ^o'^Si ^^^^^ bract about 3 times as long the single flower 

 it^encloses. Calyx membranous, glabrous, jL in. long ; lobes lanceolate, 

 acute. Corolla \ in. long ; standard broadly obovate, glabrous, veined. 

 Pods 1- (rarely 2-) jointed ; joints about i in. long, reticulately veined, 

 nearly straight on the upper, much rounded (sometimes almost semi- 

 circular) on the lower side, long-beaked and with a flat margin, glabrous. 

 Seed 1 in each joint, chestnut-brown when ripe. PI. B. I. v. 2, p. 141 ; 

 Dalz. & Gibs. p. 62 ; Tauhert, in Engl. & Prantl, Pflanzenf. v. 3, part 3, 

 p. 82, fig. 45, B ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) p. 422.— 

 Flowers : Oct. Yehx. Barki. 



In grass during the rains, tolerably common. Konkan : StocJcs !, Law !, Bahell ! 

 Deccan: Kbandala, Coo/,;c ! S. M. Country : Belgaum. /^/Vc/ue, 181 ! Kanaka: K&la 

 naddi, Ritchie, 181 ! — Distrib. India (W. Peninsula, Birma) ; China. 



2. Geissaspis tenella, Benth. in Flora, v. 32 (1849) p. 559. A 

 weak trailing annual 13-12 in. long ; stems and branches from a thick 

 root, slender, terete. Leaves abruptly-pinnate ; petioles ^-y\ in. long ; 

 stipules membranous, oblong or ohlanceolate, ciliate, not spurred. 

 Leaflets 4, sessile, /,;-| by -^\-^ in., all starting almost from the same 

 point, somewhat oblique, obovate, rouiided or truncate at the apex, 

 glabrous on both surfaces, base cuneate ; nerves prominent beneath. 

 Flowers in cojjions axillary racemes ; bracts obliquely oblong, ^--^ in. 

 broad, ciliate-toothed with short stifl' hairs (almost spinous) ; peduncles 

 very slender; pedicels short, curved. Calyx yV ''"• ^^"o' membranous. 

 Corolla yellow, nearly as long as the enclosing bracts and sometimes even 

 slightly longer. Pods 1-2-jointod ; joints j^ in. in diam., orbicular, 

 reticulately veined, shortly pointed and with a flat margin, turgid in the 

 middle. Seed 1 in each joint, dark-brown when ripe. Fl. B. L v. 2, 

 p. 141. — Flowers: Oct. Veun. Lalidn-harki. 



A rare plant. Konkan: Sfocks'. Kanara : Siddapur in rice-fields, Talbot \ — 

 Distrib. India (W. reiiinsula). 



20. ALHAGI, Tourn. ox Adans. Fam. v. 2 (1703) p. 328. 

 Mucli-branched rigid shrubs armed with axillary spines (abortive 

 branches or peduncles). Leaves simple, quite entire, usually small; 



