DoLiCHos.] LEGUMINOS^. 229 



Extensively CTiltivated within the area for the sake of its pods which ripen 

 during the cold season. It is nsnally grown along the herders cf tall crops, 



"and the castor-oil plant often forms its support. It is also trained to 

 form arbours over the doorways of village huts Eoxhurgh describes 

 several varieties, two of which are found wild in Bengal. He calls 

 them the ' kindney beans ' of the Asiatics. This plant is cultivated 

 throughout India, and sometimes as a field-crcp without supports. The 

 tender green pods are usually pickled and eaten in curries, and the 

 stems afford a valuable fodder for cattle. The numerous varieties men- 

 tioned by Eoxburgh are grouped by him under two distinct species, viz., 

 D. Lahlvb and D. lignosus, both of which are united under the former 

 name in the Fl. "Brit. India. Dr. Prain, however, has clearly shown (see 

 reference above) that they are quite distinct and are deserving at least 

 of varietal rank. He also points out that, as in the case of Phaseolus 

 Mungo and P. radiatus, Eoxburgh has reversed the incidence of the 

 Linnean names 



Tab. 1, typica, Prain I.e. 55. D. Lablab, Linv., Sp. PI. 725. D. lignosus, 

 Boxh. FL Ind. Hi, 307 (not of Linn.). Lablab vulgaris, 8avi ; W. Sf A 

 Prod. 250. Pods linear, tapering towards the apex. Seeds with their 

 long axis parallel to the sutures. 



Vae. 2, lignosa, Praui I.e. D. lignosus, Linn. Sjp. PI. 726. D. Lablab' 

 Rcxh. I.e. 807 (not of Linn.). Lablab cultratus, DC; W. f A. Prod. 251. 

 Pods shorter, with a broad and rounded apex. Seeds with their long 

 axis across the pod. A cold-weather form of this, called popat, is grown 

 to a large extent as a field-crop in the Central Provinces, and it requires 

 no support. 



2. D. ■biflorus, Linn. Sp. PI. 727 ; Boxh. Fl. Ind. Hi, 313 ; F. B. I., ii, 

 210; Field SfGard.Qrops, Part III, 2, t. LKXXI ; Watt E. D. D. uni- 

 florus, Lamh ; W. Sf A. Prod. 24S ; Boyle III. 193. Johnia congesta, D. ^ G. 

 Bomh. Fl, Suppl. 23. Vern. KuUhi, hulat. (Horse-gram of Madras.) 



Anntial Branches suberect or twining, downy or glabrescent. Stipules 

 oblong, basifixed. Leaflets 1-2 in., broadly lanceolate or oblong, entire, 

 membranous, downy ; siipels subulate. Flowers 1-3, in the axils of the 

 leaves ; bracts lanceolate, one at the base of each pedicel and two placed 

 laterally at the base of each flower. Calyx i in., downy ; teeth lanceo- 

 late-setaceous, much exceeding the tube. Corolla jellow, i-^ in. long ; 

 heel narrow, obtuse, rather shorter than the standard. Pods about 2 in. 

 long, scimitar-shaped, compressed, recurved, downy, tipped with the 

 persistent style. Seeds 5-6, compressed, reniform, grey or reddish- 

 brown. 



Cultivated in Dehra Dun and in the Sub-Himalayan tracts of Eohilkhand 

 and N. Oudh, also in Bundelkhand, Disteib. Punjab and Outer Himalaya 

 to Sikkim, up to 7,000 ft.. Cent, and S. India and Burma. It is grown 

 within the tTpper Gangetic area as a rainy-season crop, and the seeds are 

 eaten chiefly by the poorer classes of the people. The plant as grown 

 on the Himalaya is more robust, the pods ate larger and broader, and 



