516 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [DECEMBER 
fresh specimen before him. This description may be quoted as 
follows: 
2. Dolichos caule perenni lignoso. Vide Tab. 
Phaseolus indicus perennis, floribus purpurascentibus. Hort. 
Carolsrb. 36. 
Crescit in America. 
Ante accessum nostrum enata fuit planta frutescens arcte scandens, 
plus quam homanae altitudinis; caule tereti, contorto, vix striato, ramis 
plurimis tenuibus. Folia ad ramorum -exortum ternata, petiolo communi 
insidentia, quorum quod intermedium ovato-cordatum, acuminatum, latitu- 
dine pollicis, glabrum, petiolo proprio quaduplo reliquorum  productiori 
insidens; lateralia latere exteriori magis dilatata, interiori vero dimidio 
angustiora. Flores in pedunculo pauci, corolla rubra seu purpurea. Abso- 
luta florescentia absque fructu periit. 
It should be noted in this description that although the plant 
was 6 ft. or more, the leaves were but 1 inch wide and are recorded 
as being smooth. This plant, which was probably the only speci- 
men of D. lignosus actually seen by Linnarus, bloomed freely but 
did not set seed. Liynarus therefore probably never saw the 
seeds or pods of this species, but quoted the descriptions of these 
organs in his later publications from descriptions by other authors 
of plants which he assumed to be of the same species. Here in all 
probability lies the source of confusion. LinNAEus had observed 
that his D. Lablab was an annual in Europe and did not know that 
in warmer countries this same species may persist as an herbaceous 
perennial. When therefore he met with a Dolichos which was 
described as perennial, he would naturally be inclined to associate 
it with a species of Dolichos which he knew to be perennial, that is, 
his own D. lignosus. Thus he made the error in the 1763 edition 
of Species Plantarum (p. 1022) of citing Phaseolus perennis of 
Riimph. Amb. 5, pp. 378 t. 136, as a synonym of his D. lignosus, 
although this species (which is clearly D. Lablab) is described by 
Rtmputvs, in the publication named, as having leaves 3-4 inches 
long and nearly as broad, with racemes 1 ft. long and bearing many 
flowers. Ritmpuivs’ plate, a reproduction of which is given in 
fig. 4, could scarcely be assumed to represent the same plant as that 
of D. lignosus in Hort. Cliff. 360. ‘The only point of similarity is in 
