Desmodium.] l. LEduMiNOSJE. .(J. Gr. Baker.) 175 



hiddeU ty the large ovate deciduous bracts, finally 3-6 in. loug ; pedicels J in., patent, 

 finely downy. Cah/n ^ in., campanulate; teeth deltoid, shorter than the tube! 

 Corolla i in. Pod 1-1^ in. long, ^ in. bjoadj falcate, 6-10-jointed, straight along 

 the upper, slightly indented along the lower suture. 



Vae. Boylei; end-leaflet 3-4 ir. long twice as long as brOad, corolla rather 

 larger. D. Eoylei, fT. #.4. Pfot^r. 327. 



49. H. gyroldes, DC. Prodr. ii. 326 ; branches woody, end leaflet 2-3 

 times as long as broad, pod- loosely but copiously pubescent, Wall. Cat. 6728 ; 

 W. Sr A. Prodi: 227. D. pseudogytoides, Miq. Flcr. Ind. Bat. i. 244. Hedy- 

 sarum gyroides, iJo.r6. Hbi-t. Be'.^g. 67. Oodariocalyx gyroides, Hassk. in Flora, 

 1842, hiebl. ii. 49. 0. conicus, Sasak'. in Walp. Rep. i. 744. Pseudarthria poly- 

 carpa, JIassk. PI. Jav. Ear. 393 (exol. synS). 



Centrai and East Himalayas, tropical region ; Guewhal to Khasia and Cachak ; 

 TJppBE Bengal, Pegtt, Ceylon. — Disteib. Malay isles. 



Closely aEied to the last, but decidedly shrubby, reaching 8-10 ft. in height. 

 Leaves obtuse, oblong or obovate-oHong, thinly or densely pubescent beneath ; side ones 

 often suppressed. Bacemes shorter and the terminal ones not so copiously panicled ; 

 bracts under J in. long, narrowed suddenly at the point. Corolla f in., both standard 

 and keel broader. Pod similar, except in vestiture. 



£1. ABXtUS, Linn. 



Climbing shrubs. Leaves with numerous deciduoiis leaflets. Flowers small, 

 in dense racemes on axillary pedimcles or short branches. Calyx campanulate, 

 equal ; teeth very short. Corolla much exserted ; standard ovate, acute, adhering 

 below to the staminal tube ; wings narrow ; keel arcuate. Stamens 9, united iu 

 a tube slit above, the tenth absent ; anthers uniform. Corny subsessile/many- 

 ovuled ; style short, incurved, beaTdless, stigma capitate. Pod oblong or linear- 

 oblong, flat or turgid, moderately firm, thinly septate. — Disteib. Species 6 ; 

 cosmopolitan in the tropics. 



1. A. precatorius, Linn.; DC. Prodr. ii. 381; branches and leaves 

 beneath glabrous or thinly silky, leaflets ligulate-oblong, pod oblong tiu'gid 3-6- 

 seeded. Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 268; Wall. Cat. 5818; W. ^ A. Prodr. 236; 

 Dalz. ^ O^s. Bomb. Fl. 76. A. minor and pauciflorus, Desv. in Ann. Sc. Nat. 

 ix. G.S.—Rlieede Sort. Mai. viii. t. 39. 



HiMAiAYAS to Ceylon and Slam, ascending to 3500 ft. — Disteib. Cosmopolitan in 

 the tropics, often planted. 



A copiously-branched climber, with slender branches. Leaves 2-3 in. long ; 

 leaflets 20-40, membranous, deciduous, f-f in. by ^ -1 in. Racemes many-flowered, 

 crowded, usually shorter than the leaves. CaZya; i in., thinly silky. Corolla xed- 

 dish or white, 3-4 times the calyx. Pod 1- 1^ iu. by |-^ in. Seeds bright scarlet and 

 black, black, or whitish, or mixed bla?k and white, as large as a pea. 



2. A. pulcliellus, Wall. Cat. 5819; branchlets and leaves beneath glab- 

 rous or thinly silky, leaflets ligulate-oblong, pod linear flat incurved 9-12- 

 seeded. Thwaites Fnum. 91. A. Isevigatus, E. Meyer ; Harv. Fl. Cap. ii. 263. 

 A, melanospermus, Hassk. ; Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. i. 159. A. acutifolius, Blrnne ; 

 Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. i. 160. 



KuMAON to Chittagons, Tenasseeim and Biema, ascending to 3000 ft. in Sikkix ; 

 Ceylon, — Disteib. Malay isles, Guinea, Natal, Kaflraria. 



General habit exactly of A. precatoritis. Leaves 3-4 in. long ; leaflets 24-30, similar 

 in texture, f — IJ in. by J-f in. Bacemes more numerously flowered, on longer pedun- 

 cles. Cah/x and corolla similar. Pod incurved, 2-24 ^^- ^7 i ^T^-t with thinner 

 smooth valves. 



& > 



