37 G 



LEGUMINOS.E. CCXIII. PTEROCARPUS. 



loam, and peat, and young cuttings of them will strike root freely 

 if | United in a pot of sand, with a hand-glass placed over them, in 

 a little bottom heat. The climbing kinds are well adapted for 

 covering the rafters in stoves or stove conservatories. 



CCXIII. PTEROCA'RPUS (from Trrtpor, plcron, a wing, and 

 Kapiroc, carpox, a fruit ; in reference to the pods being girded by 

 a broad wing). Lin. gen. no. 854. Lam. ill. t. 602. exclusive of 

 some species. D. C. prod. 2. p. 418. 



LIN. SYST. Monadelphia Dccandriti, or Diadelphia Decdndria. 

 Calyx 5-toothed. Petals 5, disposed into a papilionaceous co- 

 rolla. Stamens 10, monadelphous or diadelphous. Legume in- 

 dehiscent, irregular, nearly orbicular, usually varicose, 1 -seeded, 

 girded by a wing. Cotyledons thick, incurved. Radicle some- 

 what inflexed at the base. Unarmed trees or shrubs, with im- 

 pari-pinnate leaves, and axillary racemes of flowers. This is a 

 very polymorphous genus, and ought to be divided into several 

 genera, but at present the flowers and fruit of the species are too 

 little known to render this practicable. 



SECT. I. MOUTOU'CHIA (Moutouchi is the Caribbean name of 

 P. suberosa). Aubl. guian. 2. p. 718. t. 299. D. C. prod. 2. p. 

 418. Griselinea, Neck. elem. no. 1358. but not of Forst. 

 Stamens monadelphous, with the sheath or tube entire, not cleft 

 above. Legume roundish, suberose, 1 -seeded, having the supe- 

 rior suture straight, but not winged. 



1 P. DRA'CO (Lin. spec. 438.) leaflets 5-7, alternate, ovate, 

 acuminated, glabrous, shining ; fruit smoothish. Ij . S. Native 

 of Guadaloupe and others of the West India islands. P. officinalis, 

 Jacq. amer. 283. t. 183. f. 92. P. Draco, Willtl. exclusive of 

 the synonymes of Aublet and Commerson. P. hemiptera, Gaortn. 

 fruct. 2. p. 351. t. 156. f. 2. The wood of this tree is white 

 and heavy, the bark thick, of a rusty grey colour, being cut 

 transversely it betrays no marks of redness at first, but in a 

 short time it is variegated with many blood red dots, that collect 

 into little globules or tears. The tree itself when cut in dif- 

 ferent parts in a short time is full of blood-coloured drops, shin- 

 ing and very clear, in the space of 10 minutes they harden, es- 

 pecially if the sun shines hot ; and then are collected under the 

 name of sanguis draconis or dragon's-blood. The bark, wood, 

 and leaves have an astringent taste. The resin of P. Draco was 

 formerly sent in abundance from Carthagena to Spain ; it no 

 longer occurs in commerce on account of the decreased demand 

 for dragon's-blood, and all the dragon's-blood now in commerce 

 is obtained chiefly from the fruit of CAlamus Draco rents, and 

 rudentum, the uses of which we shall give under that head. 

 .Dragon's-blood Pterocarpus. Clt. 1820. Tree 30 to 40 ft. 



2 P. srjBEiiosus (Pers. ench. 2. p. 277.) leaflets 5-9, alternate, 

 ovate, acuminated, glabrous, shining ; fruit reticulately-rugose 

 from elevated nerves. >> . S. Native of Guiana, in humid 

 woods. Moutouchia suberosa, Aubl. guian. 2. p. 748. t. 299. 

 P. Moutouchia, Lam. ill. t. 602. f. 1. Racemes panicled. Flowers 

 yellow. 



CfcrA-y-fruited Pterocarpus. Tree 40 feet. 



3 P. CRISPA'TUS (Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. icon, ined.) leaflets 

 5-9, alternate, ovate, acutish ; fruit smoothish ; petals curled. 

 Tj . S. Native of Mexico. Racemes panicled. Flowers of a 

 dirty yellow peach colour. 



CurW-petalled Pterocarpus. Tree 40 feet. 



SECT. II. AMPHYME'NIUM (from aj-ifyi., amplii, around, and v/.irjv, 

 hymen, a membrane ; in reference to the pods being girded round 

 by a membrane). Stamens monadelphous, with the sheath or 

 tube cleft longitudinally on the upper side, sometimes the whole 

 length. Fruit almost orbicular, containing 1 or 2 seeds inside, 

 girded all round by a broad membrane. 



4 P. RO'IIRII (Vahl. symb. 2. p. 79.) leaflets 7-9, alternate, 



ovate-oblong, abruptly acuminated, and are, as well as the 

 branches and fruit, glabrous. Ij . S. Native of French Guiana, 

 in woods. P. Apalatoa, Kich. in act. soc. nat. par. 1. p. 111. 

 P. Rohrii, Willd. spec. 3. p. 905. exclusive of the synonymes of 

 Aublet, according to Konig in ann. bot. 1. p. 358. Aubl. guian. 

 2. t. 145. f. 5G. fruit, exclusive of the rest of the plate. 



Kohr's Pterocarpus. Clt. 1816. Tree 40 feet. 



5 P. ORBICULA'TUS (Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. icon. ined. D. C. 

 prod. 2. p. 418.) leaflets 5, opposite, ovate, acute, glabrous; 

 fruit orbicular, emarginate at the base, but mucronate at the 

 apex. T? S. Native of Mexico. Flowers yellow. 



Or6icM/or-fruited Pterocarpus. Tree 30 feet. 



G P. AMPHYME'NIOM (D. C. prod. 2 p. 418.) leaflets 7, ovate- 

 elliptic, acute, rounded at the base, glabrous above, and pubes- 

 cent beneath ; branches, petioles, calyxes, and fruit clothed with 

 soft tomentum. f? . S. Native of Mexico, on the western de- 

 clivities of mountains. Amphyrnenium pubescens, H. B. et 

 Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 380. Flowers yellow ? 



Around-membraned Pterocarpus. Tree "SO feet. 



7 P. MARSU'PIUM (Roxb. cor. 2. p. 9. t. 116.) leaflets .5-7, 

 alternate, elliptic, somewhat emarginate, coriaceous, glabrous ; 

 branches and calyxes glabrous ; panicle terminal ; legume rather 

 truncate, glabrous, fj . S. Native of Coromandel, on the moun- 

 tains. Flowers pale yellow. Stamens disposed in 2 pentandrous 

 bundles, which are rather concrete on the lower side. 



Pouch-podded Pterocarpus. Clt. 1811. Tree 40 feet. 



8 P. DAIBERGIOI'DES (Roxb. hort. beng. p. 53.) leaflets 5-7, 

 alternate, elliptic, bluntish, coriaceous, and are, as well as the 

 branches and calyxes, glabrous ; panicles of flowers axillary. 



f? . S. Native of the East Indies. Stamens divided into 2 pen- 

 tandrous bundles. Flowers yellow. 



Dalbergia-iike Pterocarpus. Tree 40 feet. 



9 P. EI'LOBUS (Roxb. in herb. Lamb.) leaflets broad, gla- 

 brous, alternate, ovate-roundish, deeply 2-lobed at the apex ; 

 racemes short, axillary; fruit 1 -seeded. J; . S. Native of the 

 East Indies. 



Two-lobcd-]eaveA Pterocarpus. Tree 20 feet. 



SECT. III. ECHINODI'SCUS (from tyiroc, cchmos, a hedge-hog, 

 and cttTKoc, diskos, a disk ; in allusion to the legumes being beset 

 with stiff' bristles in the centre). Fruit almost orbicular, and 

 somewhat falcate, mucronate from the base of the style, which is 

 either lateral or oblique, girded all round by a membrane, and 

 beset with long stiff' bristles in the centre. Flowers unknown. 

 The species of this section are not well known, or it would have 

 probably constituted a distinct genus. 



10 P. ADANSONII(D.C. prod. 2. p. 41 9.) leaflets 13-15, alter- 

 nate, petiolulate, oval or rather oblong, acutish or mucronate, 

 adult ones glabrous above, but clothed with adpressed, silky 

 velvety, canescent down beneath, as well as the branches, pe- 

 tioles, peduncles, and legumes ; point of legume lateral, some- 

 what falcate, not reflexed. ^ . S. Native of Senegal. P. Se- 

 negalensis, Vahl. ex herb. Juss. 



Adanson's Pterocarpus. Tree 20 to 30 feet. 



11 P. F.CHINA' rus (Pers. ench. 2. p. 277.) leaflets ovate, some- 

 what cordate, glabrous ; legume smoothish, falcate, with the 

 point directed towards the pedicel. ^ . S. Native at Capo de 

 Solar. 



Echinahd-fmhcd Pterocarpus. Tree. 



12 P. ERINA'CEUS (Lam. diet. 5. p. 728. ill. 602. t. 4.) leaflets 

 alternate, elliptic, obtuse, glabrous above, but clothed with rusty 

 pubescence beneath ; fruit having a short, straight, lateral point. 



Fj . S. Native of Senegal and other parts of Guinea. The true 

 African kino has been discovered by Mr. Mungo Park to be the 

 produce of this tree. It is known up the rivers Gambia and 

 Senegal by the name of Pan du Sangue. Kino is a gum resin 



