84 LERUMiNosiE. {Besmodium. 



long and sometimes' spreading to 1 or 2 ft. in leiigtb. Leaflets 3, broadly 

 obcordate or obovate, 3 to 4 or rarely 6 lines long and broad, glabrous or 

 sprinkled with silky hairs. Flowers pink, scarcely 2 lines long, on slender 

 pedicels of 2 to 6 Or 8 linfes,' usually 2 together opposite the leaves. Pod 

 sessUe, 4 to 7 Hiies long, sbgbtly curved, pubescent or glabrous, the upper 

 edge continuous, the lower slightly indented, consisting of 3, to 6 nearly 

 square articles which sometimes separate,- but more frequently remain at- 

 tached and open along the outer -edge to shed their seed. 



Hongkong, Wrigkt. Oommoii i'a waste and grassy places in tropical Asia and Africa, 

 and naturalized in several parts of tropical America. 



5. D. parvifolmm, DC. Prod. ii. 334. A very much-branched, slender, 

 procumbent perennial, slightly hairy or pubescent, and often forming spread- 

 ing tufts of more than 2 ft. diameter. Leaflets 3, obovate or elliptical, usually 

 smaller and more crowded than in B. trifhrum, but sometimes near ■§■ in. long. 

 Kacemes leaf-opposed or terminal, filiform, bearing 3 to 6 small pink flowers 

 on long filiform pedicels, distant from each other along the common peduncle. 

 Pod like that of D. trijlorum, or usually more deeply indented. 



Hongkong, Harland. Common in the hilly districts of India, from Ceylon and the 

 Feninsula to the Archipelago, and northward to the Himalaya, the Philippines, and S. China 

 to Amoy. 



6. D. polycarpum, BC; W. and Am. Prod. i. 227 ; WigU, Ic. t. 

 406. An erect, decumbent or ascending perennial or undershrub, 1 to 2, 

 3, or more feet high, more or less pubescent with appressed hairs. Leaflets 3, 

 the terminal one- obovate or elliptical, 1^ to 2 in. long, the lateral ones 

 usually smaller. Eacemes terminal, dense, 1 to near 3 in. long, often several 

 together, forming a short terminal panicle. Bracts lanceolate, imbricate be- 

 fore the flowers expand, but soon falling off. Flowers purple, crowded, 3 or 

 4 lines long. Pods crowded, erect, hairy, or glabrous, about ^ to f in. long, 

 consisting of about 4 to 6 articles, which often open at their maturity ; the 

 upper edge continuous, the lower one indented between the articles. — B. 

 nervosum, Vog. PI. Meyen. 28. 



Common throughout the island, Chamjpion and others. Extends over the whole of-India, 

 the Archipelago, and the Pacific islands. 



7. D. reticulatum, Champ, in Kew Journ. Bot. iv. 46. Apparently ah 

 erect perennial or undershrub, glabrous or with a few appressed hairs sprinkled 

 on the branches and under side of the leaves. Leaflets 3, oval-eUiptical or 

 oblong, obtuse at both ends, the terminal one about an inch long, the lateral 

 ones smaller, all vei-y glabrous above, pale or glaucous underneath ; the veins 

 very conspicuous on both sides, especially underneath. Eaceme slender, ter- 

 minal, about 6 in. long, the flowers small, in distant paii-s. Bracts lanceolate, 

 longer than the buds, but not imbricate. Standai-d about 3 lines long, rather 

 broad. Keel obtuse. Pod (seen only imperfect) composed of several naiTow 

 articles, one edge straight, the other indented between the ai-ticles. 



Hongkong, CJuimpion^ Wright ; S. China, Parkes. A Japanese specimen in the late Dr. 

 Zuccarini' 8- herbarium may also be the same, and if so it may prove to be one of Thunberg's 

 old species. It is allied to, but quite distinct from, the Indian D. concinimm. 



8. D. gangeticum, BO. Prod. ii. 327 ; Wight, Ic. t. 271. An erect 

 herb or undershrub, 1 to 3 or even 4 ft. high, usually with a few appressed 



