20 



PLATE 243. 



DICHROSTACHYS NUTANS, Benth. (Fl, Cap. Vol. ii., p. 278). 

 Natural Order, LEGUMINOS.E. 



A shrub or small tree 4 to 10 feet high, armed with sharp spines which are 

 often leaf and flower bearing. Stems and branches terete, glabrous, with fascicles 

 of depauperated leaves (stipules ?) at nodes, bark light coloured, young twigs 

 pubescent. Leaves alternate, abruptly bipinnate, petioles channelled above, 

 pubescent, swollen at base, and bearing 1-2 stalked glands between each opposite 

 pair, or the glands sometimes absent ; 2-6 inches long to base of terminal pair of 

 pinnae ; pinnae 3 to 10-jugate, usually opposite, 1-2| inches long. Leaflets sessile, 

 5 25-jugate, linear-oblong, obtuse, glabrous. Flowers in dense cylindrical axillary 

 spikes, the upper half of the spike bearing hermaphrodite flowers, yellow, the 

 lower half bearing neuter ones, pink. Peduncles axillary, solitary, nodding, some- 

 times geminate, tha lower portion naked, the upper portion densely floriferous. 

 Calyx, 5-toothed, teeth erect. Corolla 5-cleft, lobes erect, acute, calyx and corolla 

 of perfect and neuter flowers, similar, but those of the perfect flowers a little 

 larger. Stamens 10; in the neuter flowers with elongated thread-like filaments 

 without anthers, in the perfect flowers shorter, with oblong, 2-celled anthers, each 

 bearing at apex a globose stalked deciduous gland. Ovary subsessile, hirsute, 

 style equalling the filaments in length, thickened in central portion. Stigma trun- 

 cate. Legume strongly compressed, twisted, several together forming a loose 

 semi-globose cluster ; few seeded ; 2-5 inches long, 5-6 lines wide. Seeds ovate, 

 compressed, brown and shining, 2 lines long, 1^ line wide. 



Habitat : NATAL : Coast and probably midland districts, also ; near Durban, 

 100 feet alt., Government Herbarium, Nos. 1449, 7744; near Durban, January, 

 Wood No. 8020. 



Drawn and described from Wood's No. 8020. 



A small shrub or stunted tree, armed with strong spines, and at once recog- 

 nised by its bearing flowers of two distinct colours on the same spike, the upp:r 

 portion yellow, lower pink. The leaf and flower bearing spines though not (in- 

 common, are worthy of notice. The genus contains four or five species of which 

 one is found in Australia, only one in Australia and Tropical Africa, and two or 

 three in Tropical and South Africa. The native name of the species here described 

 is u-Gagaan, the wood is very hard, but is not large enough to be of much prac- 

 tical use. 



Fig. 1, neuter flower; 2, hermaphrodite flower; 3, ovary, style and stigma; 4, 

 stamen; all enlarged. 



