474 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



Shrub, 1 to 2 meters high, or often herbaceous ; leaflets numerous, oblong or 

 narrowly oblong ; flowers white and pink, 1.5 to 2 cm. long. " Barbasco " 

 (Jalisco, Oaxaca, Colombia); " chilapate " (El Salvador). 



The roots have a disagreeable odor ; in the West Indies they have been used 

 in the treatment of cutaneous diseases. The plant is said also to have purgative 

 properties and to affect the heart like digitalis. It is often crushed and throwc 

 in water to poison fish. It is reported to furnish a fine blue dye. 



19. Cracca schiedeana (Schlecht.) Standi. 

 Tephrosia schiedeana Schlecht. Linnaea 12: 299. 1838. 



Jalisco to Oaxaca and Veracruz; type from Barranca de Tioselo, Veracruz. 

 Guatemala. 



Low shrub or herb; leaflets oblong or narrowly oblong, sericeous; flowers 2 

 greenish white or pinkish ; fruit 3 to 5.5 cm. long, 4 to 5 mm. wide. 



It is not certain that the specific name applies to the present plant, which 

 seems distinct from C. toxiearia. It may be that C. sehiedeana should be re- 

 ferred to the synonymy of that species. 



20. Cracca nitens (Benth.) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 1: 175. 1891. 

 Tephrosia nitens Benth. ; Seem. Bot. Voy. Herald 107. pi. 19. 1853. 

 Michoacan to Chiapas. Central and South America ; type from Panama. 

 Erect shrub 1 to 5 meters high ; leaflets few, coriaceous, bright green above, 



densely sericeous beneath with lustrous hairs ; flowers violet-red. 



21. Cracca cinerea (L.) Morong, Ann. N. Y. Acad. 7: 79. 1892. 

 Galega cinerea L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 1172. 1759. 

 Tephrosia cinerea Pers. Syn. PI. 2: 328. 1807. 



Tephrosia decumbens Benth. Nat. For. Kjobenhavn Vid. Medd. 1853: 7. 1854. 



Tephrosia scopulorum T. S. Braudeg. Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 6 : 181. 1915. 



Guerrero to Veracruz, Yucatan, and Oaxaca. Widely distributed in tropical 

 America. 



Plants decumbent, herbaceous or suffrutescent ; flowers small, purplish or 

 pink. "Barbasco" (Colombia) ; "anil," "anil cenizo " (Porto Rico). 



The plant is said to have narcotic propeities, and has been used in Guiana 

 to stupefy fish. In the West Indies it is reputed to have medicinal properties, 

 and has been used in the trea;tment of fevers and in nervous, cutaneous, and 

 venereal diseases. 



22. Cracca pringlei Rose, Bot. Gaz. 40: 143. 1905. 

 Oaxaca ; type from Las Sedas. 



Plants decumbent, suffrutescent ; leaflets about 1 cm. long ; flowers few, 

 purple, 2 cm. long. 



23. Cracca brandegei Standi. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 217. 1919. 

 Sinaloa and Durango ; type from Altata, Sinaloa. 



Leaflets linear or oblong-linear, 1 to 4.5 cm. long. 



24. Cracca vicioides (Schlecht.) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 1: 175. 1891. 

 Tephrosia vicioides Schlecht. Linnaea 12: 297. 1838. 



Veracriiz to Michoacan and Guerrero; type from Hacienda de la Laguna, 

 Veracruz. 



Ph^nts herbaceous or suffrutescent, green and nearly glabrous; leaflets 2 to 3 

 cm. long; flowers small, wine-red, in very slender i-acemes. 



25. Cracca purpurea L. Sp. PI. 752. 1753. 

 Tephrosia jmrpurea Pers. Syn. PI. 2: 329. 1807. 



. Tephrosia tenella A. Gray, PI. Wright. 2: 36. 1853. 

 Cracca tenella Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 271. 1909. 

 Baja California to Chihuahua, Veracruz, and Oaxaca. Widely distributed In 

 the tropics of both hemispheres. 



