LEGUMINOSJE. 293 



an awn glabrous, racemes opposite to a leaf, legumes 

 pubescent 7-8 times longer than broad. 



Dolichos altissimus, Jacq. Amer. 203 t. 182. f. 85. Mucuna 

 altissiraa, De Cand. Prod. II. 405. 



HAB. Common in woods. Port-Royal and St John's Hills. 



FL. August, September. 



Climbing to a great heighten trees, and suspending from thence 

 its long pendulous branches, adorned with racemes of beautiful 

 flowers. Leaflets irregular in their shape, elliptic or oblong, 

 somewhat obovate, emarginate, obtuse with an awn, glabrous. 

 Racemes opposite to a leaf, 6-12 inches long, simple. Pedun- 

 cle subterete, slightly angulose : flowers purple, showy, very 

 shortly pedicelled, 3 together, inserted on a subglobose fleshy 

 excrescence. Calyx 2-lipped, subglabrous ; under lip 3-fid, 

 with the middle lobe tooth-like and the lateral ones obtuse, 

 approximating; upper lip sub-bilobed from the apex being 

 reflected ; lobes rounded. Standard reflected, purple, rounded, 

 emarginate ; wings short, revolute, adhering at their middle to, 

 and of the same colour as the keel, which is dipetalous but 

 united at the apex. Stamens submonadelphous : anthers oval. 

 Ovary oblong, appresso-pubescent : style longer than the fila- 

 ments : stigma obtuse. Legume 78 inches long, and 1 broad, 

 compressed, slightly curved, uncinate at the apex, pubescent 

 with appressed hairs ; a grooved keel along the back, and a 

 parallel sharp keel on each side at the distance of rather less 

 than half an inch from the back: seeds 11 in number, oval, 

 compressed, of a dirty white ; hiluin linear. 



Jacquin describes this species as common in the woods of 

 Martinique. 



XXVIII. MUCUNA. Cowitch. 



Calyx campanulate, bilabiate : inferior lip 3-fid, 

 with the divisions acute, and the middle one more pro^ 

 duced ; upper lip broad, entire, obtuse. Standard 

 assurgent, shorter than the wings or keel ; wings 

 oblong, length of the keel j keel oblong, straight, 

 acute. Stamens diadelphous ; 5 of the anthers ob- 

 longo-linear ; 5 ovate, hirsute. Legume oblong, to- 

 rose, bivalve, with cellulose partitions : seeds roundish, 

 cinctured circularly with a linear hilum. De Cand. 



Herbs or shrubs, ascending to a considerable height : leaves 

 pinnato-trifoliate ; racemes axillary, generally pendulous ; le- 

 gumes usually hispid with innumerable very fragile hairs readily 

 penetrating the skin and stinging. Mucuna is the Indian name 

 of the following species. 



