Erythrina.] LegumitlOSCe. 63 



Var |8, biflora, Trim. Cat. Ceyl. PL 25. 



L. smaller, more hairy above; peduncles about 1 in., erect, 

 2-flowered. 



Dry and intermediate regions ; rather common. Var. (3, Batticaloa. 

 Fl. Jan., Feb.; dull dark purple, the keel yellowish-green. 



Found throughout the Tropics. 



This is the ' Cowage' or ' Cowitch ' plant. Moon's S. name is 'Wel- 

 damaniya. 3 



27. ERYTHRlNA. L. 



Trees with prickles on the bark, 1. pinnately trifoliolate, 

 with stipels, deciduous, fl. large in secund racemes ; cal. tubular, 

 splitting irregularly; pet. very unequal, standard much longer 

 than wings or keel, keel-pet. distinct; stam.diadelphous, but the 

 upper one often connate with the rest half way up; style beard- 

 less, stigma capitate; pod cylindrical torulose, 3-10-seeded ; 

 seed large, with a large oval hilum. — Sp. 30; 7 in Fl. B. Ind. 



Lflts. roundish-ovate, green on both sides . . 1. E. indica. 

 Lflts. oval, white beneath 2. E. ovalifolia. 



1. E. indica, Lam. Enc. Meth. ii. 391 (1786). Erabadu, 6". 

 Mullu-murukku, T. 



Herm. Mus. 49. Fl. Zeyl. n. 275. E. corallodendrum, L. Sp. PL i. 706 

 (in part). Moon Cat. 52. Thw. Enum. 89. C. P. 1464. 

 Fl. B. Ind. ii. 188. Wight, Ic. t. 58. 



A tree attaining to a large size, bark thin, smooth, grey, 

 young twigs thick, set with small straight, horizontal, broad- 

 based sharp black prickles, leaf-scars conspicuous; 1. very 

 large, deciduous, rachis 6-12 in., smooth, dilated at base, stip. 

 none or very early caducous, lflts. 4-6 in. on short swollen 

 stalks, readily disarticulating, roundish-ovate, acute, glabrous 

 and green on both sides, the term, one the largest, stipels thick 

 roundish persistent; fl. numerous large, on stout puberulous 

 horizontally spreading ped. about \ in. long, arranged in 2's or 

 3's, and closely crowded on the upper half of very stout, rigid 

 puberulous racemes 6-12 in. long, 2-4 of which diverge 

 horizontally from the summit of the branches; cal. (before ex- 

 pansion of fl.j tubular, \\ in., covered with deciduous tomen- 

 tum, upper segm. subulate, sharp but not rigid, two lat. similar 

 but smaller, lowest one longer, doubled over the rest to form 

 a blunt point to the bud, soon splitting along the back 

 (between the upper teeth) to the base and the whole turned 

 down like ;i >pathe ; standard nearly 3 in., wings less than 

 1 in., keel-pet. ;] in.; stam. much exscrted and projecting in 



