THE LEGUMINOSAE OF I'nlJTo lilco. 



Perki] 



INTRODUCTION. 



During the preparation of the following paper on the Leguminosae 

 of Port.- Rico the writer has been impressed with the small number 

 of endemic plants. Of the 67 genera and lii - » 1 1 1 \ 1 genus 



(Stahlia and 8 species i metra portoricen&is, l al " ( 



portorici nsis,Sabiru a punicea introduced intoCuba according toGund- 

 lach , AeschynomeTU p risis,Lonchocarpusgla i$,Rudolphia 



volubilis, Schrankia portoria e peculiar to tnd. 



With respecl to distribution, the genera thai appear in Porto I 

 may be divided into four classes^those which occur in Porto 

 alone; those found also in several or many of the other Antilles; those 

 that appear in Mexico, the Antilles, arid S >uth America; and. lastly, 

 the cosmopolitans. In the third and fourth classes there are many 

 genera, while the number in the first and second is comparatively 

 small. 



V< ry many of the valuable economic leguminous plants arc found 

 on the island. Amongthemosl important are: Tndigofera mffruti 

 (indigo), Haematoxylon campecheanum !. campechy w 



Pterocarpus officinalis (kino, American dragon's blood i, Dolichos labfab 

 (seeds and pods . Vigna unguiculata (pods, seeds, and fiber f PJiaseolus 

 vulgaris, Phaseolus lunatus, Cajanus indieus (seeds and young pods . 

 PachyrM tuberous rool . Arachis hypt il and seeds . 



Abrus precatoi ius ■ red seeds used as ornaments, exl remely poison 

 Adenanth »ndori used as ornaments, eaten 



cooked with rice), Albizzia L in, tanbark), Callia 



portoricensis (gum, "copaltic"), Hymenaea courbaril (gum, "Ameri- 

 can copal/' wood . Stahlia moi fine wood . 

 indica (fruit, pul] rnesiana (fragrant flowers, falsely known 

 as"Cassia flowers," w^^l in perfumery, roots and pods used for dyeing 

 black and tanning . Olitoria ternatea, Sesbania grandiflora, I 

 regia, Cassia fistula, Cassia g ihinia Jcap\ 

 giMiesii, Caesalpinia pulcherrima (ornamental plants , 

 thrin \ *teryx, Pithecolobium saman, and other- are used in shad- 

 ing coffee and cacao. 



