266 
- 25. TT. nummularium, Hngl. in Bot. Jahrb. xiv. 388 (1891). 
Basananthe nummularia, Welw. in Trans. Linn. Soc. xxvii. 28, 
t. 9. (1869); Hiern in Cat. Afr. Pl. Welw. i. 382 (1898). 
TroproaL Arrica. Angola: Huilla; moist sandy thickets 
_ Lopollo, about 1660 m., fl. and fr. Jan. —Feb., Welwitsch 
SUBGENUS AEGACANTHA. 
R. N. PARKER. 
There are two comprehensive accounts of the species of 
Astragalus subgenus Aegacantha, Bunge, firstly in Bunge’s 
Monograph, in Mém. Acad. Sc. Pétersb. Sér. VII. xi. and xv. 
and secondly in Baker’s account in the Flora of British India, 
(ii. 133-135). Bunge’s treatment is unsatisfactory mainly owing 
to the number of species admitted, several of which are founded 
on unreliable characters. A few inaccuracies have crept in which 
add to the difficulty of using his key to the species. Baker’s 
account is also unsatisfactory, partly because two of his species, 
A. multiceps and A. leptocentrus, are not the same as the plants 
described by Bunge under these names and partly owing to the 
collection of several distinct species under A. polyacanthus. 
A. polyacanthus, Baker, is a plant with a range in elevation from 
the plains to 12,000 feet unapproached by any other woody 
plant in N. W. I ndia. 
Ths history of the species in question starts with_Bentham’s 
account in Royle, Illustr. Bot. Himal. (1839) 199, where three 
species are briefly described. A. polyacanthus, Royle ex Benth. 
.c. is & species which has been much confused. There is an 
original specimen in Bentham’ s herbarium now at Kew bearing 
in Bentham’s hand “ Astragalus polyacanthus, Kunawur Royle 
1835.” This plant presumably came from Sugnam in Kunawar. 
Bunge omits A. polyacanthus, Royle, presumably because A. poly- 
acanthus, Wall. Cat. n. 5934 is a Caragana 
A. Grahamianus, Royle ex Benth. Le. 199, is a plant which 
cannot be identified with certainty. There is a specimen in 
Bentham’s herbarium named by Bentham but it can scarcely 
be accepted as the type of the species, as this specimen came 
from Kunawar, whereas the plant described in Royle l.c. came 
from “ Hills surrounding Kashmir.” The locality points to 
A. Grahamianus, Royle, being either A. cicerifolius, Royle ex 
Fischer, or A. psilocentros, Fisch. The figure in Royle l.c 
t. 36, f. 2, as far as it goes points to A. psilocentros, Fisch. 
Royle’s spécimen from Kunawar in Herb. Benth. is A. cicert- 
folius, Royle ex Fischer. It is possible that Bentham referred 
more than one plant to A. Grahamianus, Royle, as he has in other 
cases so that the most satisfactory course seems to be to drop 
