Desmodium.] xlvii. § papilionacejb (baker). 163 



8. D, delicatulum, A. Rich. Fl. Abyss, i. 205. Stem slender, annual, 

 not more than 6-9 in. high, erect, scarcely branched, clothed upwards 

 with spreading- silky hairs. Stipules lanceolate, scarious, 2-3 lines long-. 

 Petioles very slender, \ in. long j lower leaves simple, upper trifolio- 

 late, the leaflets obovate, terminal one 6-8 lines long- by about half as 

 broad, apex rounded, emarg-inate, texture firm, upper surface glabrous, 

 lower slightly silky on the veins. Racemes sessile, terminal, 2-4- 

 flowered. Pedicels very slender, half an inch long. Calyx a line deep, 

 subglabrous, the teeth linear, reaching down nearly to the base. Pod 

 6-8 lines long, more than one line broad, with 4^6 articulations, the 

 lower suture reaching about a third down, the faces glabrous. 



Nile Land. Abyssinia, Quar tin- Dillon and Petit ! 

 Perhaps a mere variety of D. hirtum. 



9. D. hirtum, Guill. et Perr. Fl. Seneg. 209. Stems annual, 2-3 ft. 

 long, copiously and diffusely branched, clothed throughout with spread- 

 ing silky yellowish-grey hairs. Stipules 3-4 lines long, linear, sca- 

 riose. Petioles J-l in. long, slender, silky ; leaflets 3, the terminal 

 one obovate, 1-1 \ in. long, |-| in. broad, lateral ones similar but 

 smaller, upper surface glabrous, lower thinly adpressed grey-silky. 

 Stipellse minute, setaceous. Flowers in very lax axillary and terminal 

 racemes, the latter sometimes a foot long, the upper flowers solitary, the 

 lower in pairs an inch or more apart, the rachis slender, densely silky. 

 Bracts ovate-acuminate, scarious, deciduous. Pedicels slender, spread- 

 ing, glabrous, J-f in. long. Calyx very silky, a line deep, cut down 

 nearly to the base, the teeth linear. Corolla red, slightly exceeding 

 the calyx. Pod J-| in. long, a line broad, with 4-6 articulations, the 

 lower suture waved about a third of the way down, the faces thinly 

 hairy. — Nicolsonm setigera, E. Meyer, Comm. PI. Afr. Aust. 124. Des- 

 modium setigerum, Benth. ; Harv. et Sond. Fl. Cap. ii. 229. 



Upper Guinea. Sierra Leone, Afzelius ! Senegambia, Leprieur and Perrottet ! 

 Guinea, confluence of the branches of the Niger, Barter! Princes island, Dr. Welwitsch! 

 Lower Guinea. Highlands of Golungo Alto, Dr. Welwitsch ! 

 Mozamb. Distr. Zambesi land and Zanzibar, Dr. Kirk I 

 Also a plant of Natal. 



10. D. incanum, DC. Prod. ii. 332. A diffuse undershrub 2-3 ft. 

 high, the branches finely grey-pubescent upwards. Stipules 3-4 lines 

 long, lanceolate, scarious, at first subconnate. Petiole 1-1J in. long, 

 densely clothed with spreading grey hairs ; leaflets 3, central one 

 oblong or obovate, 3-4 in. long, generally under half as broad, the 

 edge not at all repand, its petiolule very short and stipellne minute, 

 setaceous, the lateral leaflets smaller and more rounded at the base, sub- 

 coriaceous, upper surface glabrous, lower glaucous thinly and finely 

 pubescent with raised veins. Racemes stalked, moderately lax. Bracts 

 lanceolate, not exceeding the finely silky pedicels, 3-4 lines long. 

 Calyx a line deep, campanulate, subglabrous, the teeth deltoid or lan- 

 ceolate, reaching halfway down. Corolla 3—4 lines deep, reddish. 

 Pod an inch or more long, ± in. broad, with 5-8 articulations which 



