3.30 xlvii. §-MiMOSEiE (oliver). [Andetiantfttra. 



less met with- here and there on the African coast, although I have not seen specimens 

 from thence. M. Baillon says it is found on the Gaboon river (Adans. vi. 207). In 

 the Kew Herbarium there is an imperfect specimen collected by Dr. Meller on the Ro- 

 vuma river in young fruit, which may belong to this genus. The legumes are very 

 narrow, and about 2 ft. in length. Leaflets, from their scars, subopposite, ovate-lanceo- 

 late, narrowed to an obtuse or minutely emarginate apex, entire, glabrous, reticulate 

 above, 2 to nearly 3 in. long, 1 in., more or less, broad, on petiolules of 1-2 lines. 



6. TETRAPLEURA, Benth. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant, i. 590. 



Flowers 5-merous, shortly pedicellate. Calyx 5-toothed. Petals 

 linear-lanceolate. Stamens 10, filaments filiform, exceeding" the petals ; 

 anthers ovate, with an apical globose gland. Ovary oblong- j style 

 equalling the stamens. Legume indehiscent, straight, oblong, tetra- 

 gonous or stoutly tetrapterous, the face of each woody valve bearing a 

 longitudinal prominent thick wing or keel (in T. Thonningii). Seeds 

 transverse, embedded in distinet cavities, compressed, smooth, with a 

 central areole ; testa thick ; embryo with a thin lateral layer of albumen. 

 — Tall unarmed trees. Leaves alternate (not opposite as described, 

 through some mistake, in Schum. et Thonn. Guin. PI. 213), bipin- 

 nate. Flowers small, in spiciform racemes. 



Confined to Tropical Africa. The genus is very imperfectly known. It probably 



includes three or four species. The description of the flower given above is from Schum. 



et Thonn. (I.e.) 



Legume 6-10 in., apex rounded, acutely and broadly tetrap- 

 terous. Pinnae 5-8 pairs, leaflets subsessile 1. T. Tlionningii. 



Legume 4—5 in., pointed, narrowly tetrapterous. Pinnae 3-4 pairs, 



leaflets distinctly petiolulate 2. T. andongensis. 



Legume, clavate-tetragonous, obtusely apiculate 3. T. 



1. T. Thonningii, Benth. in Hook. Journ. Bot. iv. 1842, 345. Large 

 tree, with terete glabrous extremities. Leaves alternate ; pinnae in 

 about 5-8 pairs, opposite or rarely alternate ; leaflets alternate or sub- 

 opposite, 20 more or fewer to each pinna, broadly oblong or elliptical- 

 oblong, very obtuse or emarginate, rather coriaceous, glabrous or faintly 

 pubescent on the midrib below, venation obscure, 5-7 lines long, 3—4^ 

 lines broad, subsessile. Legume 6-10 in. long, about 1J in. broad, 

 rounded at the apex, each valve with a narrow longitudinal crest f-l| 

 in. high, of the same texture as the pericarp from end to end, thus 

 sharply tetrapterous in transverse section. Seeds about the size of 

 those of the Tamarind. — Adenunthera tetraptera, Schum. et Thonn. 

 Guin. PI. 213. 



Upper Guinea. Aquapim, Thonning ! 



Lower Guinea. Angola, Golungo Alto, Dr. Welwitsch ! (fruit only). 



The fruit is sold in the Sierra Leone market " for washing,'' and specimens are in the 

 Kew Museum from two or three different localities in Upper Guinea, so that the tree 

 has probably a wide distribution. 



In Dr. Welwitseh's collection I have only seen the fruit. Through the courtesy of 

 Professor Lange I have been favoured with a sight of Thonning's specimen preserved at 

 Copenhagen. It is in leaf only with a young detached legume. A pen-sketch is ap- 

 pended to the inflorescence, representing a dense spike 14 in. long, of very small 

 flowers. 



