Mr. Schomburgk's Description of the Mora Tree. 209 



never inspected the flowers of that tree, or he would have found that, though 

 resembling some of the Mimosece, it forms one of the Cassiece of De CandoUe. 

 The absence of authentic references prevents me from describing it ; but I 

 hope that this want will be supplied by a more competent botanist before this 

 account is laid before the Linnean Society. 



Additional Observations hy George Bentham, Esq. F.L.S. 



From the specimens transmitted by Mr. Schombxirgk, it appears that the 

 Mora forms a new genus belonging to the order Leguminosce, and to the tribe 

 Cassiece of De CandoUe. Its nearest affinities are with Tachigalia of Aubiet, 

 and Leptolobium of Vogel * ; but it difi^ers from both in the woody texture of the 

 pod, which is, moreover, naturally dehiscent, in the greater regularity of the 

 floral parts, and in the sterility of the alternate stamina. 



The Mora belongs to the series of genera which, as observed by Vogel, 

 connect the Sophorece with the Cassiece, a circumstance to which I also ad- 

 verted in my memoir, inserted in the Vienna Annalsf . Mr. Vogel gives to the 

 group the name of Sebipirece, and considers it as a section of the Cassiece or 

 Ccesalpinece. He has, however, correctly shown that the direction of the radicle 

 cannot be made use of as an absolute character to separate the Sophorece from 

 the Cassiece, and the only remaining distinction lies in the papilionaceous co- 

 rolla of the former ; and this arrangement is certainly more distinct in Bow- 

 dichia (the same genus as Sehipira), which he takes as the type of the section 

 of Cassiece, than in Orrnosia, which he leaves among Sophorece. It is true, that 

 the passage from the perfect papilionaceus corolla of Sophora, to the regular 

 one of Mora, is gradual; but it appears to me that the line of distinction 

 would be much more naturally drawn between Bowdichia, Orrnosia, and Di- 



* At the time Vogel published this genus in the Linnsea (vol. xi. p. 388.), my memoir on some genera 

 of Leguminosde in the Annals of the Vienna Museum was already in print ; and I had there established 

 a genus of Phaseoletc under the same name : but as Mr. Vogel's paper has the priority of publication, 

 the name of my genus of Phaseolete may be changed from Leptolobium to Leptocyamus. 



t The Thalesia mentioned on this occasion in my paper, is a genus of Martins, which will probably 

 be included in Leptolobium of Vogel. 



