Mezoneurum.] XXXI. LEGUMINOS^E. 155 



Leaves bipinnate, common petiole long. 



Pod flat, thin, membranous, indehiscent, with a broad 



wing on the seminiferous suture . . . .1. Mezoneurum. 

 Pod thick or more or less turgid, not winged. 



Calyx imbricate, of 5 unequal sepals . . . .2. C^esalpinia. 



Calyx valvate, of 5 equal sepals Poinciana (p. 157). 



Calyx valvate, of 4 sepals, the 2 upper connate . . Colvillea (p. 157). 



Leaves bipinnate, common petiole short, spinescent, leaflets 



minute 3. Parkinsonia. 



Leaves simple or bifoliolate. 



Calyx gamosepalous ; seeds numerous . . . .4. Bauhinia. 

 Calyx of 5 nearly distinct sepals ; pod 1 -seeded . . 5. Hardwickia. 

 Leaves abruptly pinnate. 

 Calyx-tube turbinate, segments 4 ; petals 3 . . .6. Tamarindus. 

 Calyx-tube very short, segments 5 ; petals 5 . . .7. Cassia. 

 Calyx-tube long, funnel-shaped ; petals none . .8. Saraca. 



1. MEZONEURUM, Desfontaines. 



Climbing shrubs with bipinnate leaves. Flowers in terminal or axillary, 

 solitary" or panicled racemes. Calyx oblique, with 5 broadly -imbricate 

 segments, anterior segment larger, concave, outside in bud. Petals 5, 

 rather unequal. Stamens 10, free ; anthers uniform. Ovary with 2 or 

 more ovules, stigma terminal, truncate, or dilated. Legume indehiscent, 

 or nearly so, compressed, central suture longitudinally winged. Seeds 

 compressed, exalbuminous. 



1. M. cucullatum, "W. & A. Prodr. 283. Syn. Ccesdlpinia cucullata, 

 Eoxb. PL Ind. ii. 358. Vern. Biskoprah, Oudh ; Magi, Bombay. 



A powerful climber, branches and petioles armed with strong hooked 

 prickles. Pinnae 3-7 pair; leaflets 4-5 pair, coriaceous, shining, ovate, 

 acuminate, 2-4 in. long. Plowers yellow in axillary and terminal panicles, 

 composed of a few rigid racemes. Pods flat, shining, unarmed, foliaceous, 

 3-4 in. long, 1 in. broad, with a broad membranous wing on the semini- 

 ferous suture. Seeds 1-2. 



Bengal, Oudh forests, Konkan, "Western Ghats. Indian Archipelago. Fl. 

 Nov.-Feb. Fr. ripe March. 



2. C^JSALPINIA, Linn. 



Trees or shrubs, often climbing, and armed with prickles. Leaves bi- 

 pinnate. Flowers white, yellow, or red, in simple or panicled racemes. 

 Calyx-lobes 5, imbricate, the lower outside and often larger. Petals 5, 

 orbicular or obovate, nearly equal. Stamens 10, free ; anthers uniform, 

 dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary free, inserted at the base of the short 

 calyx-tube ; ovules few. Pod compressed, coriaceous, indehiscent, or 2- 

 valved. Seeds in some species separated by cellular partitions, generally 

 exalbuminous, with a short straight radicle. 



Pods covered with closely-set prickles ; a prickly climber . . 1. C. JBonducella. 

 Pods smooth, without prickles. 



A prickly climber ; pubescent ; flowers in lateral racemes . 2. C. sepiaria. 



An erect, almost unarmed shrub ; glabrous ; flowers in ter- 

 minal corymbs 3. C. pulcherrima. 



