Desmodium.] xlvii. § papilionace^: (baker). 161 



Nile Land. Abyssinia, Schimper ! Quartin- Dillon. 



Gathered by Vogel and Dr. Hooker in the Cape Verdes. Common in Tropical 

 America ; found also in the East Indies and Polynesian islands. 



3. D. polygonoides, Welw. mss. A herbaceous perennial with 

 densely ciespitose finely grey-downy slender stems not more than half- 

 a-foot'high. Stipules linear, J in. Petioles 3-4 lines, finely downy. 

 Leaves simple, membranous, cordate, bluntish, 6-10 lines long-, gla- 

 brous above, faintly pubescent on the ribs below. Flowers in mode- 

 rately dense stalked terminal racemes l|-2 in. long. Pedicels 1J-2 

 lines, finely downy. Bracteoles linear, 1 line. Calyx 1 line, finely 

 downy, the lanceolate teeth exceeding the tube. Corolla pale violet, 

 twice the calyx. Pod with 6-7 articulations, both sutures deeply 

 indented, not seen fully mature. 



Lower Guinea. Highlands of Pungo Andongo, Dr. Welwitsch ! 



4. D. dimorphum, Welw. mss. An erect undershrub 1-2 \ ft. high, 

 much branched at the base, with firm woody slender angular branches, 

 densely grey-silky upwards. Stipules \ in. linear, scarious. Petioles 

 slender, 6-8 lines long, much bent at the apex. Leaves simple, 

 oblong, rounded at both ends, often cordate at the base, 1J-1 J in. long 

 by about half as broad, subcoriaceous, upper surface glabrous, lower 

 thinly grey-silky all over. Racemes under an inch long, crowded, 

 nearly sessile, axillary and terminal, simple. Pedicels 3-4 lines long, 

 slender, nearly glabrous. Bracteoles lanceolate, 1J-2 lines, caducous. 

 Calyx \ in. deep, very silky, the teeth linear, densely plumose, reach- 

 ing down nearly to the base. Corolla reddish, about equalling the 

 calyx. Pod 3-4 lines long, sessile, 2-3-seeded, glabrous, the lower 

 suture deeply indented. 



Lower Guinea. Golungo Alto, 2400 ft., Dr. Welwitsch 1 



Mosamb. Distr. Zambesi land, Manganya country, alt. 3000 ft., Dr. Kirk ! 



Gathered also in Madagascar by Dr. Lyall. 



V.ar /J. argyreum, Welw. mss. 



Stem simple, erect, densely grey-canescent throughout. Leaves larger, 14-2 in. long, 

 more densely silky on the underside. Calyx 2 lines long, both tube and teeth very 

 densely clothed with brown silky, hairs. 



Lower Guinea. Highlands of Huilla, Dr. Welwitsch ! 



5. D. gangeticum, DC. Prod. ii. 327. An erect undershrub 3-o ft. 

 high, the branches firm but scarcely woody, moderately slender, pubes- 

 cent upwards. Stipules linear, J—| in. long. Leaves simple, ovate- 

 lanceolate, 3-6 in. long by under half as broad, narrowed gradually to an 

 acute point, edge not at all repand, subcoriaceous, upper surface slightly 

 scabrous, lower paler and thinly adpressed grey-silky Racemes mo- 

 derately dense, subsessile, axillary and terminal, the latter compound. 

 Bracts minute, setaceous. Pedicels a line long, slender, erecto-patent. 

 Calyx about the same length, silky, the teeth lanceolate, reaching half- 

 way down. Corolla reddish, twice as long as the calyx. Pod sessile, 

 6-9 lines long, more than a line broad, the articulations 5-6, the 

 lower suture waved down nearly to the upper one, the faces slightly 



