LEGUMINOS2. 107 
Orpver XXII. LEGUMINOS/. 
Herbs, shrubs, or trees, of very various habit. Leaves usually 
alternate, stipulate, compound, rarely simple, sometimes wanting. 
Flowers generally irregular, hermaphrodite, occasionally regular 
and polygamous. Sepals 5, usually cohering into a more or less 
deeply divided calyx, sometimes free, often unequal, occasionally 
2-lipped. Petals 5, seldom fewer, perigynous or rarely hypogy- 
nous, either papilionaceous or more or less regularly spreading. 
Stamens 10, rarely less or more, perigynous or almost hypogy- 
nous ; filaments either free or all connate into a tube surrounding 
the ovary, or more generally 9 of them united and 1 free. Ovary 
free, 1-celled, consisting of a single carpel; style simple; ovules 1 
to many, attached to the ventral suture. Fruit a pod splitting 
open along both sutures, rarely indehiscent or transversely breaking 
up into 1-seeded joints. Seeds nearly always exalbuminous; em- 
bryo with large foliaceous or amygdaloidal cotyledons and a short 
radicle. 
SusorpeR PAPILIONACE. 
All the indigenous genera belong to this suborder, which is 
characterized as follows: Corolla irregular and_papilionaceous, 
seldom almost regular. Petals imbricate, the uppermost (or 
standard) always outside in the bud. Stamens definite, usu- 
ally 10. 
With the exception of Composite, this is the largest order of flowering 
plants, comprising over 400 genera and about 7000 species. Next to Gramineae, 
it is the most serviceable to man for food ; and it produces more substances used 
in the arts and medicine than any other order. Its distribution is practically 
world-wide; but it is singularly rare in New Zealand, the proportion of species 
being much smaller than in any other country of equal size. In fact, the pau- 
city of Leguminose is one of the most remarkable peculiarities of the New 
Zealand flora, especially taking into account that the order is the one most 
strongly developed in Australia, the nearest land-areato New Zealand. Of the 7 
indigenous genera, Carmichelia has an outlying species in Lord Howe Island, 
but is otherwise restricted to New Zealand ; while the two closely allied genera 
Corallospartiwm and Notospartiwm are endemic. Clianthus has 1, or perhaps 
2, species in Australia, and 1 in the Malay Archipelago; Swainsona is largely 
represented in Australia; while Canavalia and Sophora are widely distributed 
in warm climates. A list of the naturalised species, with references to descrip- 
tions, will be found in the appendix. 
* Shrubs, sometimes very small; branches flattened, compressed or nearly 
terete, grooved or striate, leafless or nearly so when adult. 
Branches stout, terete, deeply grooved. Pods compressed, 
1-seeded, dehiscing along the sutures .s .. 1. CORALLOSPAR- 
Branchlets compressed or terete. Pods short, few-seeded ; TIUM. 
valves falling away from the persistent thickened sutures, 
to which the seeds remain attached, or rarely the pod is 
indehiscent ae ae 2. “e .. 2, CARMICHZLIA. 
Branchlets terete or compressed, slender, pendulous. 
Pods narrow-linear, torulose, 2-10-seeded, indehis- 
cent 3. NOTOSPARTIUM. 
