226 XLV. LEGUMINOS.& [Mucuna 



narrow double wing all round, and with numerous oblique lamellae on its face, 

 the whole covered with orange-red deciduous wool mixed with red irritant 

 bristles. Seed one, nearly circular. 



Western Ghats from the Konkan southwards, Assam, Khasi hills, Chittagong, Burma, 

 Andamans. Fl. C.S. Also Malay Archipelago. 



3. M. atropurpurea, DO. Western Peninsula and Ceylon. Branchlets glabrous. Fl. 

 on pedunculate, often branching racemes. Pods elliptic-oblong, 2-3 in. long, f-l.in. 

 broad, winged and plaited, 2-seeded. 



B. Face of pod not plaited. 



4. M. gigantea, DC. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 186. 



A glabrous climber, stems thin, but sometimes 250 ft. long. Fl. yellow 

 or white, in corymbs, pendulous on slender peduncles. Calyx with yellow 

 deciduous bristles. Pod 4-6 in. long, 1-2 in. broad, winged along both sutures ; 

 seeds 2-4. 



A littoral species, common in the Sundriban and on the Andamans. A striking 

 feature of the Indian mangrove-swamps. Here and there on the coast of the Western 

 Peninsula. Malay Peninsula and Malay Archipelago to Polynesia. 



5. M. macrocarpa, Wall.; Kurz, F. Fl. i. 379. Vern. Baldengra, Nys. 

 A powerful woody climber, the stems to 15 in. diam. Wood soft spongy. 



Fl. large, 2-3 in. long, greenish purple or greenish white, in long pendulous 

 racemes, axillary or from the old wood. Pods 1-3 ft. long, torulose, up to li in. 

 thick, narrowed between the 8-12 seeds, velvety when young, glabrous after- 

 wards. 



Nepal, Sikkim (ascending to 7,000 ft.). Hills east of Toungoo, often in pine woods 

 (4,000-6,000 ft.). Shan plateau, Upper Burma, 4,000 ft. PI. H.S. Also in Tonkin and 

 Yunnan. 



6. Mucuna pruriens, DC. — Syn. M. utilis, Wall. ; "Wight Ic. t. 280, Kawanch, Goneha, 

 Hind. ; Kiveh, Burm., is short-lived (biennial ?), but climbs over big trees and is 

 common among the tall grasses of the Savannahs. The dark purple fl. appear during 

 the rains or in autumn, the pods ripen in the cold season, are 2-3 in. long, 5-6-seeded, 

 and densely clothed with brown irritating hairs. Subhimalayan tract from the 

 Punjab eastwards, Assam, Khasi hills, Western Peninsula, Burma, Siam, Tonkin, 

 Yunnan. Also Malay Peninsula, Java, and Borneo. 



13. ERYTHRINA, Linn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 188. 



Trees or shrubs (a few herbaceous undershrubs), the Indian species nearly 

 all leafless during the hot season, and in flower at that time, branches often 

 prickly. Wood white, soft and light, medullary rays broad, pores (vessels) 

 large, broad concentric bands of thin-walled wood parenchyma. Leaves pin- 

 nately trifoliolate, the lateral leaflets opposite, stipules small, stipels gland- 

 like. Fl. large, generally red, fasciculate in peduncled racemes, standard, 

 much larger than wings or keel. Stamens connate to the middle, the 10th 

 free or connate with the rest at the base, anthers equal. Pod stipitate, 

 dehiscent. 30 species in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of both 

 hemispheres. 



A. Calyx spathaceous, split to the base. 



1. E. indica, Lam. ; Wight Ic. t. 58. The Indian Coral tree. Vern. 

 Pangra, Pangdra, Hind. Mar. ; Pdlte Mdddr, Beng. ; Halivara, Kan. ; 

 Modugu, Tel. ; Kathit, Burm. 



A moderate-sized tree, of rapid growth. Bark yellowish or greenish grey. 

 Young shoots and inflorescence clothed with stellate pubescence, black 

 prickles on branches, which fall when a few years old, petioles unarmed. Leaf- 

 lets entire, glabrous, the terminal 4-5 in. long, generally broader than long. 

 Fl. bright scarlet in dense racemes, with peduncle to 15 in. long. Calyx 1 in., 

 at the apex contracted, with 5 minute teeth. Wings and keel equal, one- 

 fourth the length of standard. Pod torulose, 6-12 in. long, seeds 1-8. 



