264 A FLORA OF MANILA 



1. D. lablabL. Batao (Tag.). 



A glabrous, twining, annual vine reaching a lengrth of 6 m or more, the 

 stems often purplish. 'Leaves 3-foliolate, the stipules small, basiiixed; 

 leaflets ovate, acute or acuminate, entire, 7 to 15 cm long. Racemes erect, 

 long-peduncled, 15 to, 25 cm long. Flowers few to many, pink-purple or 

 nearly white, about 2 cm long. Pods oblong, flattened, 7 to 12 cm long, 

 about 2 cm wide, acuminate, containing 3 to 5 seeds. (Fl. Filip. pi. Z92, 

 Lablab eultratijis.) 



Commonly cultivated for its edible beans, frequent in thickets etc., fl. 

 Oct.-May; widely distributed in the Philippines, wild and cultivated, but 

 certainly introduced. Tropics of the Old World. 



2. D. falcatus Klein. 



A slender, twining, glabrous or nearly glabrous annual vine reaching 

 a length of 3 to 4 m. Leaflets ovate to oblong-ovate, 2 to 6 cm long, 

 subentire to somewhat 3-lobed, acute or acuminate, base broad. Peduncles 

 solitary, axillary, slender, equaling or exceeding the petioles, each bearing 

 from 1 to 3 or 4 flowers at the apex. Flowers pink and white or purplish, 

 1 cm long. Pods oblong, somewhat curved, 5 to 7 cm long, about 8 mm wide. 



In dry thickets, Guadalupe etc., common, fl. Oct.-March; widely distributed 

 in Luzon. India. 



57. PSOPHOCARPUS Necker 



Twining herbaceous or suffrutescent yines from tuberous roots. Leaves 

 3-foliolate, the stipules produced below the point of attachment; leaflets 

 stipellate. Flowers rather large, pale-blue or purplish. Calyx-teeth 

 shorter than the tube, the jipper 2 connate. Corolla much-exserted, petals 

 equal, the keel incurved. Stamens monadelphous, the upper one free below. 

 Ovary many-ovuled; style long, bearded around the stigma. Pod square, 

 oblong, distinctly longitudinally winged along each angle, septate between 

 the seeds. 



Species 3 or 4 in the tropics of the Old World, 1 in the Philippines. 



1. P. TETRAGONOLOBUS (L.) DC. ScgidiUa (Sp.-Fil.) ; Calamismis (Tag.) ; 

 Asparagus Bean. 



A glabrous, twining, annual vine reaching a length of 6 'm or more. 

 Leaves 3-foliolate, leaflets ovate, entire, acuminate, 8 to 14 cm long, base' 

 deltoid. Racemes few-flowered up to 15 cm in length; Flowers light-blue, 

 3 to 3.5 cm long. Pod square, 10 to 20 cm long, about 2 cm thick, 4-winged, 

 the wings about 5 mm wide, crisped. (Fl. Filip. pi. 293.) 



Commonly cultivated for its edible pods, occasionally spontaneous, fl. 

 Oct.-Dec, certainly introduced. India and Malaya. 



66. OXALIDACEAE (OxALis OR BALiMBiNG Family) 



Herbs or trees, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves opposite or alternate, 

 usually 2-stipulate. Inflorescence axillary or cauline. Flowers umbellate 

 or cymose, perfect, regular, small. Sepals 5, imbricate. Petals 5. Stamens 

 10, in 2 series; filaments somewhat united below. Ovary 5-celled; ovules 

 one to many in each cell ; styles free. Fruit capsular or fleshy, dehiscent or 

 indehiscent.' 



Genera 7, species about 250, chiefly in temperate regions, 3 genera and 6 

 species in the Philippines. 



