64 
62. CONVOLVE!. ACEJE. 
fi. fasciculate at their rooting nodes and the fl. quite concealed 
by the crowded 1. Whole pi. more or less pubescent or pu- 
berulous though appearing smooth or glabrescent. L. above 
dark dull bottle-gr. subpuncticulate and thinly finely and mi- 
nutely adpresso-puberulous, but to the naked eye appearing 
smooth ; beneath a little brighter but scarcely paler gr. and more 
closely adpresso-puberulous scarcely silky but distinctly pal- 
mately 5-7-nerved ; 3-4 lines broad, 2-3 long, the edges very 
entire but sometimes a little waved or plaited as if crenulate. 
Petioles slender subpubescent o or 6 lines long or more, blanched 
downwards. Ped. one-fid. ebracteate much stouter and shorter 
than the petioles, 2 or 3-many from the nodes, abruptly de- 
fiexed or hooked downwards in all stages like those of Trifolium 
subterraneum L., pubescent, thickened in fr. Fl. small inconspi- 
cuous pale gr. or yellowish w. like the petioles, opening stellately 
to fo or jV iu. in diam. Sep. 5 herbaceous gr. permanent half- 
ovate or ovate-oblong obtuse villoso-pubescent and fringed at 
the edges. Pet. o hypogynous alternate with sep. scarcely 
united except by the broad subdilated fil. at the base, pale 
greenish ligulate obtuse. Estivation of sep. and I think of pet. 
nearly if not quite valvate, or at least only subimbricate. Stam. 
5 hypogynous short half the length of and alternate with the 
pet. ; anth. large reddish brown bursting longitudinally. Ov. 
2 large didymous. Styles 2 very short ; stigmas pale gr. large 
capitate subtrilobed. Fr. large scrotiform, of 2 geminate di- 
stinct globose indehiscent caps., each about 2 mill, in diam. and 
each mostly 1-celled and 1-seeded, but one of them sometimes 
apparently double externally with an impressed raphe and 2- 
seeded though still only 1-celled internally ; and sometimes (but 
rarely) one of the 2 normal globes is wanting, and again some- 
times instead of being distinct and separate down to the base 
they are connate or confluent and 1-celled without any dissepi- 
ment between the 2 seeds. Before maturity the fr. is conspi- 
cuously large and w. or cream-coloured ; but when ripe it 
shrinks a little, becoming pale brown or fawn-colour and of a dry 
thin brittle chartaceous substance. The cal. becomes a little 
enlarged and leafy in fr. but not reaching above half its height. 
Seeds dark brown smooth and even but not polished, hemisphe- 
rically subovato-globose, rounded-convex dorsallv, flat ventrally, 
? uite loose and free in the ripe caps., large 1£ mill, in diam. 
lot. large linear-oblong flexuously coiled up like the rad. within 
the horny albumen. 
First observed 100 years ago by Forster, on Capt. Cook’s Ex- 
pedition, in New Zealand, this curious little pi. is now found in 
almost all the warmer regions of the globe. It is however of 
very recent (3 or 4 years) introduction into Mad., where never- 
