382 
XLIII. LEGUMINOS^E. 
[ Psoralea . 
3. P. Archeri (after Wm. Archer), F. v. M. Fragm. iv. 21 (partly) ; Benth. 
FI. Anstr. ii. 190. “Wommo,” Cloncurry, Palmer. Very nearly allied to 
P. badocana, with which F. v. Mueller unites it, but apparently an erect coarse 
annual of 1 to 2ft., hirsute with much more rigid and spreading hairs than in 
that species. Leaves similarly 1-foliolate, the leaflet ovate or oblong, obtuse, 2 
to 3in. long, but always toothed. Flower-heads sessile and very hispid. Flowers 
of P. badocana , but the calyx-lobes more subulate. Pod ovate, almost acute, 
very hispid. 
Hab.: Gulf country. 
Used for fibre. The plant is pulled, soaked some hours in water, then left to dry, when 'the 
bark peels and is kept for use for cordage and strong twine. — Palmer. 
4. P. plumosa (feathery), F. v. M. Fragm. iv. 22 ; Benth. FI. Austr. ii. 191. 
Apparently an annual, erect, nearly simple, 6 to 9in. high, very hispid with long 
spreading rigid hairs. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate ; leaflets obovate or elliptical, 
acute or mucronulate, quite entire, f to lin. long, the lateral veins few. Flower- 
spikes dense, short, shortly pedunculate, very hispid. Bracts broad. Calyx-tube 
very short, the lowest lobe lanceolate, acuminate, nearly 4 lines long, the upper 
ones scarcely half as long and narrow. Petals shorter than the lower calyx-lobe ; 
keel with a short erect point. Pod ovate, slightly hirsute. 
Hab.: Gulf country. 
5. P. pustulata (blistered), F. v. M. in Tram. Viet. Inst. iii. 54 ; Benth. FI- 
Austr. ii. 191. An undershrub with stout rigid erect branches attaining 5 to 
10ft. in height, loosely pubescent and sprinkled with large almost scale-like 
glands. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate ; leaflets obovate or oblong, very obtuse, 
1 to 2in. long, entire, softly pubescent. Stipules broad, rigid, striate. Flowers 
shortly pedicellate, in rather loose axillary racemes of 2 to 4in., flowering almost 
from the base. Calyx about 3 lines long, slightly pubescent and sprinkled with 
prominent glands ; the lobes rather broad, the 4 upper ones very short, the lowest 
nearly twice as long. Petals half as long again as the calyx, the standard rather 
broad. Pod enclosed in the somewhat inflated calyx, ovate-oblong, slightly hairy, 
very glandular. 
Hab.: Gulf of Carpentaria. 
6. P. eriantha (flowers woolly), Benth. in Mitch. Prop. Austr. 131, and FI. 
Austr. ii. 192. A perennial with a woody rhizome and prostrate or ascending 
stems of 1 to 2ft., hoary or white with a short or soft tomentum. Leaves pin- 
nately 3-foliolate ; leaflets ovate, obovate or almost orbicular, toothed, hoary or 
white-tomentose, the terminal one usually J to lin. or rarely 1^-in. long, the 
lateral ones smaller. Stipules short. Spikes pedunculate, sometimes dense and 
1 to 2in. long, more frequently rather loose and 2 to 3 or even 4in. long. Flowers 
bluish, almost sessile. Calyx 3 to nearly 4 lines long, clothed with a soft white 
tomentum or pubescence, the lowest lobe rather longer than the 2 uppermost, the 
lateral ones much shorter. Petals rather longer than the calyx. Pod ovoid, 
obtuse, tomentose or villous, shorter than the calyx. 
Hab.: In the bed of the Balonne River, near St. George’s Bridge, Mitchell. 
The species is nearly allied to, although not identical with, P. Jaubertiana, Fenzl, from the 
E. Mediterranean region. — Benth. 
7. P. patens (spreading), Lindl. in Mitch. Three Fxped. ii. 9 ; Benth. FI. 
Austr. ii. 192. A perennial of 1 to 6ft., with a woody rhizome and erect or ascend- 
ing branches hoary-tomentose or pubescent. Leaves pinnately 8-foliolate. Leaflets 
from ovate-rhomboid to broadly lanceolate, obtuse, usually rounded at the base, 
mostly 1 to 1-^in. long, denticulate, green or minutely hoary-tomentose. Spikes 
at first dense, but afterwards elongated and interrupted, on very long peduncles. 
