228 G. King — Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula. [No. 1, 



Nicobars; common. Kedah ; Pulo Langkawi, Curtis 2618! 2867! 

 Peiuk; Scortechini 1096! Kunstler 1029! Malacca; Griffith 1898! 

 Pahang ; Ridley 1377 ! Distrib. Coasts of S.-E. Asia, North Australia 

 and Western Polynesia. 



The nearest ally of this species is not any plant known as a Csesalpinia, but a 

 species from China known as Mezoneuron sinense. 



§ 2. CvESAlpinaria Bth. & Hk. f. Leaflets small, numerous, mem- 

 brauous ; petals very long-clawed ; stamens very far exserted ; seeds 6-8. 



4. C^salpinia pdlcherrima Svv. Obs. 166. A shrub with glabrous 

 unarmed or very sparsely and weakly pricMy branches. Leaves 4-6 in. 

 long, pinnae 1 2-] 6, 2-4 in. long, the proximal and distal rather shorter 

 than those between, leaflets 16-24, distinctly petiolukte, close, membra- 

 nous, elliptic-oblong, apex obtuse, base slightly oblique, cuneate on upper 

 rounded on lower side, '5-7 in. long, *35-*45 in. wide, dark-green, glab- 

 rous on both surfaces. Racemes terminal and axillary, simple or very 

 sparingly branched, 8-12 in. long, at length subcorymbose, 4-6 in. wide, 

 pedicels ascending, the lowest reaching 3-4 in. in length ; bracts subu- 

 late '2 in. long, very early caducous. Calyx '6 in. long, quite glabrous, 

 leathery, the lower segment very large and deeply cucullate, '4 in. wide. 

 Corolla spreading, 1*5 in. across, all petals long-clawed, the lower four 

 •75 in. long, yellow or red, lamina orbicular with crisped margin, -5 in. 

 in diam., the upper smaller. Stamens far-exserted, red, glabrous, 1*75 

 in. long. Pod thin, flat, ligulate, glabrous, nearly straight, 2-3 in. long, 6 

 in. wide ; seeds 6-8, broadly oval, compressed, brown, *4 in. long, "3 in. 

 wide. Benth. PI. Jungh. 258 ; Miq. Flor. Ind. Bat. I, 111 ; Bak. in 

 Flor. Brit. Ind. II, 255. Poinciana pulcherrima Linn. Sp. PI. 380; DO. 

 Prodr. II, 484 ; Bot. Mag. t. 995 ; Wall. Cat. 5813 ; Roxb. Flor. Ind. 

 II, 355 ; W. & A. Prodr. 282. Rheede, Hort. Malab. VI, t. 1 ; Rumph. 

 Herb. Amboin. II, t. 20. 



A garden or hedge plant in most of our provinces. 



The native country of this species is nncertain, but apparently it is not any- 

 where truly wild in S.-E. Asia. The other species of the section are American, 

 so that this one has perhaps also been originally derived from the Western Hemis- 

 phere. 



§ 3. Sappania DC. Leaflets many, membranous, small ; petals 

 short-clawed ; stamens not far exserted ; seeds 3-6. 



5. Cjisalpinia Sappan Linn. Sp. PL 381. A tree 20-30 feet high 

 with thorny stem 6-10 in. in diam.; branches rusty-pubescent with few 

 small prickles. Leaves 8-15 in. long, pinnae 16-24, 4-6 in. long; leaflets 

 20-36, close, membranous or chartaceous, oblong, very oblique, sessile, 

 attached at lower corner, apex obtuse or slightly retuse, '5-*75 in. 

 long, "35 in. wide, glabrous above, slightly puberulous on the nerves 



