FABACEJE, OR LEGUMINOSJE. 



494. I. tinctoria Linn, sp.pl 1061. Willd. iii. 1237. ] DC. 

 prodr. ii. 224. Roxb. ft. ind. iii. 379. W. and A. i. 202. 

 Ind. indica Lam. enc. iii. 245. illustr. t. 626. f. i. I. suma- 

 trana Gcertn. t. 148. f. 2. East Indies ; common in Liguarea 

 in the West Indies according to Dr. Macfadyen. 



Suffruticose, erect, branched, sprinkled with short whitish pubes- 

 cence. Branches terete, firm. Leaves pinnated; leaflets 5-6-pairs, 

 oblong-obovate, cuneate at the base, slightly decreasing in size towards 

 the apex of the leaf; stipules subulate, erect or incurved. Racemes 

 shorter than the leaves, sessile, many-flowered. Flowers small, ap- 

 proximated at the base of the raceme, more distant and deciduous 

 towards the apex. Calyx-segments broad, acute. Legumes approx- 

 imated towards the base of the rachis, nearly cylindrical, slightly 

 torulose, deflexed and more or less curved upwards : sutures thick- 

 ened. Seeds about 10, cylindrical, truncated at both ends. W. and A. 

 A decoction of the root used as a lotion effectually destroys vermin; 

 the juice of the young branches mixed with honey is recommended 

 for aphthae of the mouth in children ; and Indigo in powder, sprinkled 

 on foul ulcers is said to cleanse them. The disease in poultry, known 

 by the name of yaws, is cured by the application of a solution of Indigo 

 by means of a rag. Macfady. fl.jam. i. 251. Indigo is also used in 

 epilepsy, and erysipelas. Med. Gaz. xx. 172. Moreover the valuable 

 dye obtained from it is a highly dangerous vegetable poison. It is, 

 however, by no means confined to I. tinctoria. The following are 

 equally important in regard to their dyeing qualities : 



495. I. Anil Linn. Mant. 272. yields much of the Indigo of 

 the West Indies. The powdered leaf used in hepatitis. Ainslie. 



496. I. argentea Linn. Mant. 27. is the species cultivated for 

 Indigo in Egypt. 



497. I. caerulea Roxb. fl. ind. iii. 377. was said by Roxburgh 

 to produce the finest indigo he knew. 



CLITORIA. 



Calyx 5-cleft, furnished at the base with pretty large very 

 obtuse bractlets. Vexillum large, rounded. Stamens diadel- 

 phous (9 and 1), inserted with the corolla a little above the 

 base (not into the bottom) of the calyx. Style somewhat di- 

 lated at the apex. Legumes linear, compressed, straight, 

 2-valved, united with the base of the style, 1 -celled, many- 

 seeded, often with cellular partitions between the seeds. 

 Climbing herbaceous plants. Leaves unequally pinnated : leaf- 

 lets often 1 pair, more rarely 2-3 pairs, generally furnished with 

 partial stipules at their base. Flowers axillary, pedicellate, 

 large, white or blue or purple, often resupinate. W. and A. 



498. C. Ternatea Linn. sp. pi. 1026. Bot. Mag. t. 1542. 

 DC. prodr. ii. 233. Ternatea vulgaris HBK. vi. 415. (Rumpk. 

 v. t. 31 . Rheede viii. t. 38.) Various parts of both the East 

 and West Indies. 



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