Guilandina.] leguminos^e. 97 



twice that size. Stipules leafy and lobed, deciduous. Racemes 4 to 6 in. 

 long, simple or slightly branched, in the upper axils. Flowers crowded in the 

 upper part, shortly pedicellate. Bracts with a long recurved point, falling off 

 as the flowers expand. Calyx about 4 lines long. Petals scarcely longer. 

 Pod 2 to 3 in. long, about 1^ in. broad, very prickly. Seeds of a bluish- 

 grey. 



On the seashore, Hance. Widely spread, and often very common, especially near the sea 

 in tropical Asia, Africa, and America. It is usually confounded with the G. Bonduc, Linn., 

 which is a much rarer plant, although equally found (hut, perhaps, not always indigenous) in 

 East India, in the Archipelago, and in the West Indies. It is nearly glabrous, has usually 

 larger leaflets, no stipules, the bracts are erect, not recurved, and the seeds are said to be al- 

 ways yellow, not grey. 



31. CJESALPINIA, Linn. 



Sepals 5, shortly united at the base, the lower one rather larger and concave. 

 Petals 5, rather unequal, the upper inner one the smallest, the 2 lowest outer 

 ones the largest. Stamens 10, free, all fertile ; the filaments hairy. Anthers 

 ovate. Ovary with 2 or more ovules. Pod flattened, obliquely ovate, oblong 

 or falcate, without prickles, opening in 2 valves. Seeds thick or flattened, 

 the radicle short and straight. — Leaves twice pinnate. 



A considerable genus, distributed over the tropical regions of the New as well as the Old 

 World. 



Pinnae 2-4 pair. Leaflets 2-3 pair. Racemes glabrous 1. C. Nuga. 



Pinnae 9-12 pair. Leaflets 4-6 pair. Racemes tomentose or villous . . 2. C. vernalis. 



1. C. Nuga, Ait.; DC. Prod. ii. 481. A woody climber, glabrous in all 

 its parts, armed with a few recurved prickles, especially on the petioles. 

 Leaves twice pinnate, with 2, 3, or 4 pair of opposite pinnae. Leaflets 2 or 3 

 pair to each pinna, opposite, ovate, ly to 2 in. long, coriaceous and shining, 

 usually very obtuse in the Chinese variety, but occasionally almost acute, as is 

 more common in the southern varieties. Racemes 4 to 8 in. long, forming 

 large terminal panicles. Pedicels slender. Lowest sepal about 5 lines long. 

 Petals scarcely longer. Ovaiy with 2 ovules. Pod obliquely oval, acuminate, 

 flat. Seed flattened. — G. ckinensis, Roxb. PI. Ind. ii. 361. C. jjaniculata, 

 Desf.; DC. Prod. ii. 481. 



Common in ravines, Champion and others. Generally distributed over India, from Ceylon 

 aud the Peninsula to the Archipelago, extending also to tropical Australia, and northward to 

 the Philippines and S. China. 



2. C. vernalis, Champ, in Kew Journ. Bot. iv. 77. A shrub, with trail- 

 ing or climbing branches, with numerous recurved prickles on the petioles. 

 Leaves twice pinnate, the common petiole above a foot long, with 9 to 12 

 pair of opposite rather short pinnse. Leaflets 4 to 6 pair on each pinna, 

 ovate-acute, \ to f or rarely nearly 1 in. long, coriaceous, glabrous and shining 

 above; pale, glaucous or rusty underneath. Racemes rusty-tomentose or 

 villous, the upper ones forming a terminal panicle. Pedicels spreading. 

 Plowers nearly of C. Nuga, but the calyx is tomentose at the base, the sepals 

 thin and coloured at the top. Pod very oblique, broadly ovate, about 2 in. 

 long, with one large flat seed. 



On the banks of a stream running towards Little Hongkong, Champion ; also Hance, 

 Wright, and Wilford. Not known from elsewhere. 



H 



