DEHCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 821 



type of a new genus dedicated to Don .Jose de Medinillu y rinedu/« who was gov- 

 ernor of the Marianne Islands at the time of Freycinet's visit. Homewhat diagram- 

 matic figures of the plant, (lower, and fruit are given in plate 10(> of the atlas of the 

 Botany. Tlie species is recorded hy llookei- in his Flora of British India as occurring 

 in Malacca, and is recognized by Naudin in his monograi>li of the Melastomaceae. '^ 

 References: 



Mediiiilla romi GaudU-h. Fxit. Freyc. Voy. 484. /. 106. 1S2(;. 

 Melaslomn mcdhiUlana is ni(>rely mentioned by Gaudichaud in tlie lext and not 

 properly pnhlisiicd. The specilic part of the name is therefore; not recognized as 

 having place priority. 



Meibomia g-angetica. Tick-tkefoh,. 



Family Fabaceae. 



Local names. — Atis-aniti ((inam); Mankit (Philippines); Salpani (l>engal). 

 A suberect weed, 90 to 120 cni. high; stems woody, slightly angular, upwardly 

 clothed with short gray down; leaves 1-foliolate, the leaflet oblong, entire, glabres- 

 cent on the njjper surface, thinly clothed beneath with appressed hairs, membranous 

 or snbcoriaceous, 7.5 to 15 cm. long and one-third to one-half as broad, rounded at 

 the base, narrowed graduallj' upward to an acute point; stipules distinct; petiole 

 12 to 24 mm. long; flowers small, in long ascending, lateral and terminal racemes, 

 purple or yellowish white; calyx less than 2.5 mm. long, campanulate, finely downy, 

 the teeth lanceolate; corolla 3 to 3.5 mm. long; standard broad, wings adhering to 

 the keel; upper stamen free, the other 9 stamens united; pod subsessile, compressed, 

 6 to 8-jointed, 12 to IS mm. long, glabrescent or clothed with minute hooked hairs. 

 Common on the island of Guam ; probably introduced. The vernacular name, sig- 

 nifying "devil's sweet-sop," is probably given it on account of the similarity of its 

 leaves to those of the"atis" {Annnna sqiunnosa). This shrub is one of the most 

 highly prized of the medicinal plants of India. It is one of the ten roots {(hiftlia 

 inula) of the Hindu Materia Medica. It is regarded as a febrifuge and anticatarrhal. 

 It is of very wide tropical distribution. 

 References: 



MeJhomid (jiingctiat (L. ) Kuntze, \\v\. (ien. 1: 196. 1891. 

 Hedijsaruiii gangdlcum L. Sp. J 'I. 2: 74(j. 1753. 

 Desmodiuiii gangeiicumDC. ]*rod. 2:327. 1825. 

 Meibomia triflora. Ckekpini; tick-trefoil. 



Local names. — Agsom, Anson (Guam); Pakpak lahgao (Philippines). 

 A small, much-branched, slender creeping or trailing plant, often not more than 

 5 cuL long, with trifoliolate leaves and small pink flowers arranged 2 or 3 together 

 opposite the leaves. Stems clothed with fine spreading hairs; leaves small, with 

 lanceolate stipules; petiole 3 to 6 mm. long; leaflets obovate, 3 to 12 mm. long, trun- 

 cate or emarginate, with a few appressed hairs below; calyx jiubescent, teeth very 

 long, inclosing the corolla; pod sessile, 8 to 12 mm. long, 3 mm. broad, 3 to 6-jointed, 

 the upper suture straight, the lower slightly indented. 



A plant widely distributed in the Tropics. It is good for forage, taking the place 

 of clover and alfalfa, and will grow in all kinds of soil and situations. The leaves 

 are sometimes made into i)oultice:;! and applied to abscesses and wounds. In (inam 

 it grows in waste places and in abandoned fields, often forming a fint; thick turf. 

 Sometimes iinjiroperly called "agsom," which see. 

 References: 



Meibomia triflora (L. ) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 1: l*t7. 1891. 

 Hedyitarniii triflorum L. Sp. PI. 2: 749. 1753. 

 Desmodiuin triflorum DC. Prod. 2: 334. 1825. 



" "Hommage de reconnoissance A D. Jose de Medinilla y Pineda, gouverneur des 

 lies INhiriannes, qui nous a prodiguc les soins et les secours lea plus emx)resses." 

 ((iaudichaud, Freyc. Vov. Bot., pp. 484-485, 1826.) 



''Ami. Sci. Nat. ser. 3,"vol. 15, p. 286, 1849. 



9773—05 21 



