STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 435 



Tree, 8 to 12 meters high, unarmed ; leaves pinnate, the leaflets ovate, 5 to 7.5 

 cm. long, coriaceous, obtuse or acutish, bright green and lustrous above ; flowers 

 white, 6 mm. long, racemose-paniculate; fruit flat, oblong or elliptic, 5.5 to 9 

 cm. long, 2 cm. wide, thin, with one or two seeds. " Huesillo " (Michoac5,n, 

 Guerrero). 



5. SOPHORA L. Sp. PI. 373. 1753. 



Trees or shrubs, unarmed ; leaves pinnate, the leaflets large, thick ; flowers 

 racemose ; fruit linear, terete or slightly compressed, constricted between the 

 seeds, indehiscent or tardily dehiscent. 



One herbaceous species, S. sericea Nutt.. occurs in northern Mexico, 



Leaflets 0.6 to 1 cm. long 1. S. purpusi. 



Leaflets 2 to 5 cm. long or longer. 



Leaflets not reticulate-veined ; racemes usually 20 cm. long or longer. 



2. S. tomentosa. 

 Leaflets conspicuously reticulate- veined ; racemes usually less than 10 cm. 

 long. 

 Calyx conspicuously dentate; leaflets mostly oblong or elliptic-oblong, se- 

 riceous beneath, at least when young __3. S. secundifl^ora. 



Calyx subtruncate ; leaflets oval or broadly oval, glabrous__4. S. conzattii. 



1. Sophora purpusi T. S. Brandeg. Zoe 5: 285. 1906. 



Coahuila and Zacatecas; type from Sierra de Parras, Coahuila. 



Shrub ; leaflets about 17, oval or oblong, coriaceous, green and glabrate on 

 the upper surface, sericeous beneath ; racemes few-flowered, the flowers white, 

 tinged or dotted with purple ; fruit white-sericeous, 2 or 3-seeded. 



2. Sophora tomentosa L. Sp. PI. 373. 1753. 



Known in Mexico only from Clarion Island, Baja California. Widely dis- 

 tributed on seashores in the tropics of both hemispheres. 



Shrub, 1 to 3 meters high, leaves deciduous, the leaflets 15 to 21, oblong to 

 orbicular, 2 to 4 cm. long, sericeous beneath, at least when young; flowers 

 yellowish white, 2.5 cm. long; pods long and slender, strongly constricted 

 between the seeds; seeds brown. " Tambalisa " (Cuba). 



The plant is reputed to have diuretic, sudorific, and purgative properties, 

 and is used in the West Indies as a remedy for venereal diseases. The seeds 

 are commonly believed to be poisonous, and they, like other parts of the plant, 

 contain a poisonous alkaloid. It is said, however, that in Madagascar the pods 

 are fed to cattle. 



3. Sophora secundiflora (Ortega) Lag.; DC. Cat. Hort. Monsp. 148. 1813. 

 Broussmictia secundiflora Ortega, Hort. Matr. Dec. 61. pi. 7. 1798. 

 Virgilia secundiflora Cav. Icon. PI. 5: pi. 401. 1799. 



Coahuila to San Luis Potosi. Western Texas and southern New Mexico. 



Shrub or small tree, sometimes 12 meters high, with a trunk 20 cm. in 

 diameter ; leaves evergreen, the leaflets 7 to 11, 2.5 to 6 cm. long, lustrous on 

 the upper surface, beneath sericeous, at least when young; flowers 2 to 3 cm. 

 long, violet-blue, very fragrant ; fruit hard and woody, sometimes 20 cm. long ; 

 seeds large, bright red ; wood hard, close-grained, orange-red, with yellow 

 sapwood, its specific gravity about 0.98. " Frijolillo " (Nuevo Leon, Texas); 

 " colorin " (Coahuila, Nuevo Le6n, Texas) ; " frijolito " (Texas). 



The seeds contain a bitter poisonous alkaloid, sophorine, and one seed is 

 said to be sufficient to cause death in a human being. The Indians of Texas 

 and adjacent Mexico used small quantities of the powdered seeds to produce 

 a sort of intoxication. Taken thus the seeds produce general excitement, de- 

 lirium, and finally deep sleep lasting two or three days. Children have been 

 poisoned fatally by eating the seeds. The wood is said to yield a yellow dye. 



