352 



XLYUI. LEGUMIKOS.t. 



Petiole not winged. 



Branches angled ; joints of pod longer than broad 9. D. gangeticum. 



Branches terete; joints of pod as broad as long 10. D. lattfolium. 



Jlorbs. 



Leaflets broader than long 11. D.reniforme. 



Leaflets as broad as long 12. D. rotundifolium. 



Leaves 1- and 3-folioIate intermixed. 



Herbaceous; pod indehiscent 13. D. jxo'viflorum. 



An erect undershriib ; pod dehiscent 14. D. gyrans. 



1. Desmodium umbellatum, DC. Prodr. ^. 2 (1825) p. 325. A. 

 bushy rshrub (occasiuimlly growing into a small tree) 5-15 ft. high ; 

 young branches terete, downy with appressed pubescence. Leaves 3- 

 t'oliolate, 3-(5 in. long (including the petiole); coinnion petioles |-] in. 

 long, thickened at the base, channelled, rusty-puberulous ; stipules ^ in. 

 long, closely parallel-striate, caducous. Leadets subcoriaceous. ovate- 

 oblong, obtuse or subacute, glabrous above, canescent beneath (the 

 terminal 2-3 by 14-2 in., the lateral 14-2 by 1-14 in.); petiolules 

 |-j^ in. long ; tnain nerves 4-8 pairs, slender, parallel, cui'ved ; stipels 

 ^ in. long, subulate. Flowers in axillary peduncled 6-12-flowered 

 umbels; peduncles 3— 4 in. long; pedicels §— ^ in. long; bracts deci- 

 duous ; bracteoles broadly ovate-oblong, acuminate. Calyx g-^ in. long; 

 teeth triangular, as long as the tube. Corolla 4 in. long, white. Pods 

 1-4-2 in. long, sparsely silky when young, glabrous when ripe, thick and 

 coriaceous, ahnost turgid, not reticulately veined, indented on both 

 sutures; joints 4-5 (usually 4)1 by | in. Fl. B. I. v. 2, p. 161; 

 Grab. Cat. p. 49 ; Dalz. & Gibs, p." OH; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 2, p. 47: 

 Talb. Trees, Bomb. p. 69 ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) 

 p. 423. 



Eare. Gimauat : S.'E. oi Hnrat, DalzclUj- GPiaon. 8. M. Country : near Belgauni. 

 always growing on the banks of streams, Lrnv ex (iraham I.e. — Distrib. India near 

 the coast; Ceylon, Mascarene Islands, Malaya, Philippines, Polynesia. Prain says 

 (Journ. As. Soc. Beng. v. (iG (1898) p. 137) that all the specimens in the Calcutta 

 Herbarium were invariably sent from the sea-coast or the shores of tidal rivers. 



2. Desmodium Cephalotes, WdlJ. Cat. (1828) 5721 ; var. 

 congestum, I'mlti, hi Jnvni. Ah. Soc. Bemj. v. <iG (1898) p. 389. A 

 shrub 4-5 ft. high ; branches appressedly silky, triquetrous. Leaves 

 3-foliolate, 4-6 in. long; petioles _^-l in. long, appressedly silky; 

 stipules 4 in. long, linear-lanceolate, bristle-pointed, striate, glabrons. 

 Leaflets elliptic-oblong, obovate-oblong, or lanceolate, acuminate, grey- 

 silky and finely reticulately veined beneath (the terminal 2|-4 by 1^- 

 2 in., the lateral 2-34 by ^-14 in.) ; petiolides g in. long : main nerves 

 12-10 pairs, prominently slender ; stip(4s ^- in. long, filiform, con- 

 spicuous. Flowers 20 or more, crowded in dense axillary peduncled 

 umbellate heads; peduncles -i— ,1 in. long, stout, silky ; pedicels 0-yL in. 

 long (when present, silky, cup-shaped and fringed with white silky 

 hairs at the apex) ; bracts i— ^ in. long, linear-subulate, ciliate, 

 caducous ; bracteoles J in. long, linear-subulate, ciliate, caducous. 

 Calyx i in. long, campanulate, densely silky ; teeth lanceolate, acute, 

 about as long as the tube. Corolla i in. long, red. Pods ^^-1 in. long, 

 slightly curved, indented on both sutures, more deeply on the lower 

 one ; joints 3-0, as broad as long, slightlv pubescent. I), congeslam (sp.). 

 Wall. Cat. 5723 ; Dalz. & Giba. p. 00." D. Cephalotes, Fl. B. I. v. 2, 

 p. 161 (in part); Wight. Icon. t. 373; Trim. Fl. Ceyl. v. 2, p. 47: 

 Talb. Trees, Boml). p. 09 : Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1897) 



