34 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



nearly always pentamerous. Their petals are free or coherent, and 

 there are sometimes only five stamens. The fruit is linear and 

 straight, or slightly curved in the species which has been made into 

 the genus Darlingtonia ; l it opens longitudinally into two valves, and 

 the oblique seeds, variable in number, are only separated by incom- 

 plete projections of the pericarp. But Desmanthus is a genus of very 

 peculiar habit, consisting of herbs or humble undershrubs, whose 

 bipinnate leaves possess setaceous persistent stipules, and often 

 a gland on the petiole at the origin of the lowest pair of leaflets. 

 The flowers form little solitary axillary pedunculate capitula, 

 globular or ovoid, often few-flowered. They are hermaphrodite or 

 polygamous ; those of the base of the capitulum being male or even 

 neuter. In this case the latter often possesses an ill-developed corolla 

 and elongated petaloid staminodes. In this feature Desmanthus comes 

 very near Neptunia, but differs in not possessing the gland crowning 

 the anther, or the peculiar habit. But this is none the less a common 

 point where tlie two series Eumimosea and Adenantherea are almost 

 united. The seven or eight known species of Desmanthus inhabit 

 North and South America, except one - ' which is widely diffused over 

 all tropical regions. 3 



III. PARKIA SERIES. 



The flowers of Parkin, 4 (figs. 24-27) are hermaphrodite and neuter, 

 or polygamous ; that is to say, in the singular pyriform inflo- 

 rescence of these plants (fig. 24), the flowers axillary to the lower 

 bracts are male, or have only the abortive organs of both sexes, 

 while the flowers of the upper swollen part are hermaphrodite. In 

 these last the receptacle bears a long tubular calyx, divided above 

 into five very unequal lobes and quincuncially imbricated in the 

 bud. Lobes 1 and 3, which are anterior, are the largest of all, 



1 DC, in Ann. Sc. Nat., ser. 1, iv. 97 ; 3 K., Mimos., t. 35. — Jacq., loc at. — 



Mem. Legum., 427, t. 66 ; Prodr., ii. 443.— Hook., in JBot. Mag., t. 2454.— Walp., Rep., i. 



Tore. & Gr., Fl. N. Amer., i. 501. — Endl., 86-1 ; Ann., i. 260. 



Gen., n. 6830. — Mimosa glandulosa, Michx., 4 R. Br., in Oudn., Denh. Sf Clapp. App., 



Fl.Bor. Amer., ii. 254.— Vent., Ch. de PI., t, 27. 234.— Rich., Guile. & Perr., /•"/. Seneg. T, ,<?. 



s D. virgatus W., Spec, iv. 1047.— DC., i. 237.— Endl., Gen., n. 6S19.— Benin., in 



Prodr., n. 10. — Mimosa virgata L., Spec, Hook. Journ., iv. 329.— Reich n., Ft. Fxo1., 



1502.— Jacq., Sort. Vindob., t, 80.— Oliv., Fl. t. 231.— B. H., Gen., 588, n. 373.— Parypo- 



Prop. Afr„ ii. 334. sphara Kaic- i .. Fl. Cobimb., ii. 7, t. 104. 



