Piptadenia.] XXXI. LEGUMINOSjE. 169 



subcoriaceous, reniform leaflets, 2-3 in. long and l|-2 in. broad. Flowers 

 greenish yellow, sessile or nearly sessile, in dense cylindrical spikes 1-3 ia. 

 long, arranged in sbort axillary panicles. Galyx cup-shaped, nearly trun- 

 cate, with 5 short teeth. Petals 5, lanceolate, 3 times longer than calyx. 

 Stamens longer than petals, terminal glands globose. Pod stalked, linear, 

 flat, 9-12 in. long, ^ in. broad. Seeds 15-20, compressed, brown, broad- 

 oval. 



Discovered in March 1871, by Mr Richard Thompson, in the Oudh forests 

 under the base of the hills in the Gonda division, where it is common, clothing 

 the sides of the hUls, and entering into them along the valleys. The leaves are 

 renewed in March, and the tree flowers in April. 



Attains 40 ft., with a short trunk, which divides into numerous upright 

 branches, with drooping branchlets, resembling HardwicMa hinata in general 

 appearance. Bark of younger branches smooth or wrinkled, with large, conical, 

 compressed, sharp-pointed prickles. Bark of stem and older branches \ in. 

 thick, grey, brown, to dusky red, rough with flattish, exfoliating, woody scales. 

 Inner bark red, fibrous. Wood light red, close-grained, durable, very hard ; 

 seasons weU without cracking. Heartwood not distinct. The trees are poUarded 

 for cattle-fodder. 



4. PROSOPIS, Linn. 



Flowers bisexual, pentamerous, generally sessile, in spikes or heads. 

 Calyx campanulate, with 5 short teeth. Petals valvate, free or connate 

 below. Stamens 10, free, exserted j anthers tipped with a sessUe or stipi- 

 tate gland. Ovary sessile, with numerous ovules, a slender style, and a 

 small terminal stigma. Legume coriaceous, indehiscent; the seeds em- 

 bedded in a spongy, hard, or scanty pulp. 



Pod linear, contracted- between seeds, pinnse 2 pair . 1. P. apwigera. 

 Pod short and thick, pinnae 2-5 pair ^ . . 2. P. Siephaniana. 



Several trees of this genus form a marked feature in the vegetation of the dry 

 regions of Chili, Peru, Texas, and Mexico, with sweetish succulent pods called 

 Algarobo, eaten by the Indians, and given to horses. 



1. P. spicigera, Linn.— Tata. XXV.— Eoxb. Cor. PI. t. 63; W. & A; 

 Prodr. 271 ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 56 ; Boissier Fl. Orient, ii. 634.— Syn. 

 Adenanthera aeuleata, Eoxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 371. Vem. Jand, jhand, jant, 

 khdr (pod Sangri, Sankar), Pb. ; Kandi, hundi, Sindh ; Chaunkra, Agra, 

 Bhurtpur ; Khejra, khejri, Eajputana ; Sangri, shangri, Pertabgarh ; 

 Semru, semri, mmri, hamra, Panch Mehals, Guzerat; Shemi, shema, 

 saunder, Dekkan. 



A moderate - sized thorny tree. Glabrous, branches and branchlets 

 armed with scattered, broad - conical, somewhat compressed prickles. 

 Leaves bipinnate, pinnse opposite, usually 2 pair, leaflets 7-10 pair, 

 obliquely oblong, cuspidate, more or less distinctly 3-nerved. Spikes 

 slender, in short axillary panicles. Flowers small, yellow, in the axils of 

 ovate, obtuse, membranous bracts. Calyx cup-shaped, membranous. _ Pod 

 pendulous, liiiear, contracted between seeds, 5-10 in. long, filled with a 

 brown mealy substance. 



Common and gregarious in the Panjab, Eajputana, north and middle Sindh, 



