84 LEGUMiNOS.^. [Besm odium. 



long and sometimes spreading to 1 or 2 ft. in length. Leaflets 3, broadly 

 obcordate or obovate, 3 to 4 or rarely 6 lines lojig and broad, glabrous or 

 sprinkled with silky hairs. Flowers pink, scarcely 2 lines long, on slender 

 pedicels of 2 to 6 or 8 lines, usually 2 together opposite the leaves. Pod 

 sessile, 4 to 7 lines long, slightly curved, pubescent or glabrous, the upper 

 edge continuous, the lower slightly indented, consisting of 3 to 6 nearly 

 square articles which sometimes separate, but more frequently remain at- 

 tached and open along the outer edge to shed their seed. 



Hongkong, Wriglit. Common in waste and grassy places in tropical Asia and Africa, 

 and naturalized in several parts of tropical America. 



5. D. parvifolium, DC. Trod. ii. 334. A very much-branched, slender, 

 procumbent perennial, slightly haiiy or pubescent, and often forming spread- 

 ing tufts of more than 2 ft. diameter. Leaflets 3, obovate or elliptical, usually 

 smaller and more crowded than in B. trijtorum, but sometimes near \ in. long. 

 Racemes leaf-opposed or terminal, filiform, bearing 3 to 6 small pnik flowers 

 on long filiform pedicels, distant fi-om each other along the common peduncle. 

 Pod like that of D. trijiorum, or usually more deeply indented. . 



Hongkong, Harland. Common in the hilly districts of India, from Ceylon and the 

 Peninsula to the Archipelago, and northward to the Himalaya, the Philippines, and S. China 

 to Amoy. 



6. D. po^ycarpum, DC; IV. and Am. Trod. i. 227 ; Wicjlit, Ic. t. 

 406. An erect, decumbent or ascending perennial or undershmb, 1 to 2, 

 3, or more feet high, more or less pubescent with appressed hairs. Leaflets 3, 

 the terminal one obovate or elliptical, ly to 2 in. long, the lateral ones 

 usually smaller. Pacemes terminal, dense, 1 to near 3 in. long, often several 

 together, forming a short terminal panicle. Bracts lanceolate, imbricate be- 

 fore the flowers expand, but soon falling off. Plowers pui-ple, crowded, 3 or 

 4 lines long. Pods crowded, erect, hairy, or glabrous, about ^ to f in. long, 

 consisting of about 4 to 6 articles, which often open at their matm-ity ; the 

 upper edge continuous, the lower one indented between the articles. — D. 

 nervosum, Vog. PI. Meyen. 28. 



Common thi'oughout the island, Chawpion and others. Extends over the whole of India, 

 the Archipelago, and the Pacific islands. 



7. D. reticulatuiR, Clump, in Kew Journ. Bot. iv. 46. Apparently an 

 erect perennial or undershrub, glabrous or with a few appressed hairs sprinkled 

 on the Ijranches and under side of the leaves. Leaflets 3, oval-elliptical or 

 oblong, obtuse at both ends, the terminal one about an inch long, the lateral 

 ones smaller, all very glabrous above, pale or glaucous underneath ; the veins 

 very conspicuous on both sides, especially underneath. Eaceme slender, ter- 

 minal, about 6 in. long, the flowers small, in distant pairs. Bracts lanceolate, 

 longer than the buds, but not imbricate. Standard about 3 lines long, rather 

 broad. Keel obtuse. Pod (seen only imperfect) composed of several naiTOW 

 articles, one edge straight, the other indented between the articles. 



Hongkong, Champion, Wright ; S. China, Parkes. A Japanese specimen in the late Dr. 

 Zuccarini's herbarium may also he the same, and if so it may prove to be one of Thunberg's 

 old species. It is allied to, but quite distinct from, the Indian B. concinnum. 



8. D. gangeticum, BC. Trod. ii. 327 ; WigU, Ic. t. 271. An erect 

 lierb or undershrub, 1 to 3 or even 4 ft. high, usually with a few appressed 



