34 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 
nearly always pentamerous. Their petals are free or coherent, and 
there are sometimes only five stamens. The fruit is linear and 
straight, or slightly curved in the species which has been made into 
the genus Darlingtonia ; it opens longitudinally into two valves, and 
the oblique seeds, variable in number, are only separated by incom- 
plete projections of the pericarp. But Desmanthus is a genus of very 
peculiar habit, consisting of herbs or humble undershrubs, whose 
bipinnate leaves possess setaceous persistent stipules, and often 
a gland on the petiole at the origin of the lowest pair of leaflets. 
The flowers form little solitary axillary pedunculate capitula, 
globular or ovoid, often few-flowered. They are hermaphrodite or 
polygamous ; those of the base of the capitulum being male or even 
neuter. In this case the latter often possesses an ill-developed corolla 
and elongated petaloid staminodes. In this feature Desmanthus comes 
very near Weptunia, but differs in not possessing the gland crowning 
the anther, or the peculiar habit. But this is none the less a common 
point where the two series Eumimosee and Adenantherce are almost 
united. The seven or eight known species of Desmanthus inhabit 
North and South America, except one’ which is widely diffused over 
all tropical regions.’ 
III. PARKTA SERIES. 
The flowers of Parkia,‘ (figs. 24-27) are hermaphrodite and neuter, 
or polygamous; that is to say, in the singular pyriform inflo- 
rescence of these plants (fig. 24), the flowers axillary to the lower 
bracts are male, or have only the abortive organs of both sexes, 
while the flowers of the upper swollen part are hermaphrodite. In 
these last the receptacle bears a long tubular calyx, divided above 
into five very unequal lobes and quincuncially imbricated in the 
bud. Lobes 1 and 3, which are anterior, are the largest of all, 
1DC., in Ann. Sc. Nat., sér. 1, iv. 97; 
Mém. Légum., 427, t. 66; Prodr., ii. 443.— 
Torr. & Gr., Fl. N. Amer., i. 501.—ENDL., 
Gen, u. 6830.— Mimosa glandulosa Micux., 
Fl. Bor, Amer., ii. 254,—VEnt., Ch. de Pl., t. 27. 
2D. virgatus W., Spec. iv. 1047.—DC., 
Prodr., n. 10.— Mimosa virgata L., Spec., 
1502.—Jacq., Hort. Vindob., t. 80.—OLtv., Fl. 
Trop. Afr., ii. 834, 
3 K., Mimos., t. 85.—Jacg., loc. cit—~ 
Hoox., in Bot. Mag., t. 2454.—Watp., Rep., i. 
864; Ann., i. 260. 
4 R. Br., in Oudn., Denk. & Clapp. App., 
234.—Ricu., GUILL, & Perr. £1. Seneg. Tent. 
i, 237.—Enp.., Gen. u. 6819.—Benru., in 
Hook. Journ, iv, 329.—Reicus., Fi. Exot., 
t. 231.—B. H., Gen., 588, n. 373.—Parypo- 
sphera Karst., Fl. Columb., ii. 7, t. 104. 
