Neustaiithus^i leguminos.I':. ^7 



broad, 3 to 4 in. long, the terminal one rhomboid, the lateral ones oblique, 

 all entire. Stipules ovate-lanceolate, produced below their insertion. Stipelhe 

 subulate. Peduncle 6 in. long or more, bearing above the middle a dense 

 one-sided raceme. Flowers 2 or 3 together at each node, full 6 lines long. 

 Calyx-teeth or -lobes all rather longer than the tube, the lowest the longest 

 and acute. Standard orbicular, wings naiTow, keel broader, scarcely beaked. 

 Ripe pod unknown. 



Hongkong, IlarJand. Not received from elsewhere. It is a handsome species, coming 

 nearest to the N. peduncnlaris, Benth., from Ncpaul, but has hirger flowers and ditt"erently 

 shaped petals, besides other minor characters. 



14. MUCUNA, Adans." 



Calyx campanulate, 4-toothed. Standard shorter than the other petals. 

 Keel as long or longer than the wings, curved, and usually tipped with a 

 cartilaginous beak. Upper stamen free from the base. Style liliform, with 

 a small terminal beak. Pod thick, ovate-oblong or elongated, usually covered 

 with stinging hau's. Seeds with an oblong or a long linear hilum. — Twiners 

 or tall clmibers. Leaflets 3, the stipellse subulate or sometimes wanting. 

 Eacemes on long axillary peduncles. Flowers large, pedicellate, arising from 

 gland-like nodes. 



A considerable genus, spread over the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and America. 



Leaves silky underneath. Racemes short. • Flowers 1^ in. long . . 1. M. Championi. 

 Leaves glabrous or nearly so. Racemes long. Howers 3 in. long . 2. M. macrobotrys. 



1. M. Championi, Bentli. in Keio Jonrn. Boi. iv. 49. A tall climber, 

 woody at the base ; the young shoots and under side of the full-grown leaves 

 clothed with rust-colom-ed silky hairs. Leaflets about 3 in. long, the terminal 

 one broadly ovate, the lateral ones very oblique, all shortly and obtusely 

 acuminate. Racemes seldom above 4 in. long, including the peduncle, simple, 

 or with 1 or 2 branches. Pedicels solitary, or 2 or 3 together on each node, 

 6 to 10 lines long. Flowers purple. Calyx 3 lines long, hairy inside and 

 out. Standard about 1 in. long, wings 1^ in. ; keel rather long, with a hard 

 incurved point. Pod about 4-seeded, 6 to 7 in. long, 2 in. broad, glabrous 

 when ripe, but reticulate, with numerous oblique raised wings, besides a lon- 

 gitudinal wing on each side of each suture. 



On rocks and trees above the Buddhist Temple, at East Point, Champion. Not known 

 from elsewhere. 



2. M. macrobotrya, Hance in JFalp. Ann. ii. 422. A tall climber, like 

 the last, but quite glabrous, except a few small hairs sprinkled on the under 

 side of the leaves. Leaflets oval-oblong, near 5 in. long, the lateral ones 

 very oblique. Racemes long, loose, and pendulous, on very long peduncles. 

 Flowers usually 2 together, pedicellate, dark puiiDle, about 3 in. long. Calyx- 

 tube near 6 lines, and the lowest tooth but little shorter, sprinkled with a few 

 hairs. Standard \\ in., wings 1\ in., keel 3 in. long, with a hard beak. 

 Pod (which I have not myself seen), 5 in. long, If in. broad, 2- or 3-seeded, 

 hispid, and obliquely winged or plaited, as in the last species. 



Near the Buddhist Temple, and perhaps introduced, nance. Not seen from elsewhere. 

 The flowering specimens are like those of M. macrocarpa, Wall., from Himalaya, but the 

 pod as described by Hance is quite different. 



