94 leguminosjE. [Derri*. 



leaflets 13 to 19. Ovules 2. (Pod oblong, acute at both ends.) . . I. D. chinensis. 

 Leaflets 3, 5, or 7. Ovules 6 to 8. Pod obliquely oval or orbicular . 2. B. uliginosa. 



1. D. chinensis, Benlh. in Journ. Linn. Soc. iv. Suppl. 104. Probably 

 a tree. Leaflets 13 to 19, oblong or elliptical, obtuse or scarcely acute, about 

 1 in. long, silky-pubescent when young, at length glabrous and thin. Flowers 

 4 or 5 lines long, clustered 2 to 4 together at the nodes of axillary simple 

 racemes rather shorter than the leaves. Pedicels about 1 line long. Ovules 2. 



S. China, Hance. These specimens are in flower only, but fruiting specimens gathered 

 by Wright in Oosima Island appear to belong to the same species. In them the pod is 

 rather more than 1 in. long, about 6 lines broad in the middle, narrowed to a point at both 

 ends, 1 -seeded, with a very narrow wing along the upper edge. 



2. D. uliginosa, var. /? Loureiri, Benth. in Journ. Linn. Soc. iv. Suppl. 

 107. A woody climber, glabrous in all its parts. Leaflets in the Hongkong 

 variety usually 3, in others 5 or 7, oval-oblong, shortly and obtusely acumi- 

 nate, 1^ to 2 in. long. Eacemes axillary or lateral, simple, from 2 or 3 to 

 about 6 in. long, the pedicels in rather distant clusters about 1 line long. 

 Flowers about 4 lines long. Ovules about 4, or in some varieties 6 to 8, all 

 in the lower part of the cavity of the ovarium. Pod very flat and thin, 1 to 

 1^ in. long, very obtuse at both ends so as to become nearer square than 

 round, but very oblique, and sometimes as broad as long, but in some varieties 

 considerably narrower. Seeds 1 or 2. — Derris trifoliata, Lour. PI. Cochinch. 

 433. 



Hongkong, Wright. I have the same variety from Cocbin China and from Malacca. It 

 passes however gradually into the common form, with 5 or 7 leaflets and 6 to 8 ovules, 

 which is spread all over India, extending westward to eastern Africa, eastward over the 

 Indian Archipelago to N. Australia, and northward to S. China aud Loochoo. 



The D. scandens, Benth. {Balbergia scandens, Roxb.), another common Indian species 

 has been received from the neighbourhood of Canton, but not from Hongkong. 



26. PONGAMIA, Vent. 



Flowers of Derris. Pod oblong, flattened, but thick and hard, indehiscent, 

 1 -seeded, with obtuse edges, not winged. Seed thick, reniform, with a small 

 hilum. 



A genus of a single species, scarcely distinct from Loncho carpus. 



1. P. glabra, Vent. ; Benth. in Journ. Linn. Soc. iv. Suppl. 115. A 

 tree, either glabrous in all its parts or with a slight pubescence on the smaller 

 branches. Leaves pinnate. Leaflets 5 or 7, opposite with a terminal odd 

 one, ovate, broadly elliptical or oblong, shortly and obtusely acuminate, about 

 3 in. long, on petiolules 3 to 4 lines long, or sometimes considerably longer. 

 Flowers 6 or 7 lines long, in loose axillary racemes of 3 to 5 inches. Pedicels 

 usually 2 together, from 2 to 4 lines long. Calyx truncate. Ovaiy haiiy, 

 with 2 ovules. Pod usually 1^ to 2 in. long, 1 in. broad, sessile or nearly so. 



Hongkong, Wright. Throughout southern India, on the coast, and in the plains to the 

 foot of the hills, extending over the Indian Archipelago to N. Australia, and northward to 

 S. China and Loochoo. 



Tribe VIII. SOFHOBE^J. 

 Trees, shrubs, or very rarely herbs or undershrubs. Leaves pinnate, of 5 



