448 
XL11I. LEGtJMINOSiE. 
[Podopetalum. 
leaflets coriaceous on the flowering branchlets, 5 to 7, about 3in. long and ljin. 
broad, tapering to short petiolules. Inflorescence at the ends of the branchlets, 
sometimes forming broad panicles. Calyx coriaceous, persistent under the pod. 
Pod stipitate, 3 or 4in. long, fin. broad; sides with a few prominent veins, 
slightly constricted between the seeds. Seeds from 1 to 4, oblong, red, 5 lines 
long, with a small hilum. 
Hab.: On the borders of rivers in tropical Queensland. 
74. CASTANOSPERMUM, A. Cunn. 
(Chestnut-seeded.) 
Calyx-teeth very short and broad. Standard obovate-orbicular, recurved, 
narrowed into a claw ; wings and keel-petals shorter than the standard, all free 
and nearly similar, erect, oblong. Stamens 10, all free ; anthers linear, versatile. 
Ovary on a long stipes, with several ovules, tapering into an incurved style ; 
stigma small, terminal. Pod large, coriaceous, almost woody, turgid, 2-valved, 
spongy inside. Seeds large, nearly globular ; cotyledons thick ; radicle scarcely 
prominent, straight. — Tree. Leaves large, unequally pinnate. Flowers large, 
yellow, in loose axillary or lateral racemes. Bracts small ; bracteoles none. 
The genus is limited to a single species endemic in Australia. 
1. C. australe (Australian), A. Cunn. in Hook. Bot. Misc. i. 241, t. 51, 52 ; 
Benth. FI. Austr. ii. 275. Moreton Bay Chestnut or Bean Tree. “ Mi,” 
Brisbane, T. Petrie-, “ Ivo-par,” Cooktown, Both.-, “Ivoonmurri,” Bundaberg, 
Keys ; “ Wac-kay,” Barron River, J. F. Bailey. A tall glabrous tree. Leaves 
1 to 14ft. long; leaflets 11 to 15, ovate-elliptical or broadly oblong, shortly 
acuminate, 3 to 5in. long, shortly petiolulate. Racemes 2 or 3 or to 5 
or Gin. long, nearly or quite sessile, usually on the old leafless wood. Pedicels 
1 to 14in. long. Calyx coriaceous, campanulate, J to fin. long, lobes 5, 
short and broad, the 2 upper ones more widely separated and shorter than 
the others, all incurved. Standard obovate, prominently emarginate or 2-lobed, 
tapering to a rather broad claw, 1 to 14in. long., and when fully expanded lin. 
broad, wings and keel petals imbricate, erect, fin. longer than the calyx-tube, 
oblong, all the petals thick-coriaceous, changing from a greenish-yellow to a deep 
orange. Stamens 10, all free, incurved, the longer ones lfin. Anthers linear, 
versatile, 2 lines long. Ovary on a long stipes, with several ovules, tapering into 
an incurved style. Stigma minute. Pod 8 or 9in. long, about 2in. broad, 
slightly falcate, almost terete, the valves hard and thick, the spongy substance 
inside dividing it into 3 to 5 cells, each containing a large chestnut-like seed. 
Hab.: Endeavour River, Banks and Solander ; Brisbane River, Moreton Bay, A. Cunningham , 
F. v. Mueller ; Pine River, Fitzalan ; also in the scrubs of tropical Queensland. Flowering in 
November. 
Var. brevivexillum. This variety differs from the normal form in that its flowers are smaller 
and qf a canary-yellow, and the standard shorter than the wings and keel-petals, of nearly the 
form of these, and hut slightly recurved. Stamens nearly straight. 
A plate showing the above forms is given in Ql. Agri. Journ. vol. i., part 6. 
The beans of this tree are eaten by marsupials, and in limes of scarcity of food by the 
Australian blacks, after preparation by soaking in water, pounding, and baking. A small piece 
of the bean if eaten causes severe diarrhoea, with intense griping ; it does this whether it has 
been previously soaked in water or even roasted. No poisonous substance is removed by water. 
No parts of the plant are bitter. The purgative property of the bean is probably due to its 
indigestibility. — T. L. Bancroft. 
This tree exudes a light-brown gum, which contains 15-4% of arabin, 64-4% of metarabin, and 
traces of a yellow colouring matter. — Lauterer. 
The bli"ht fungi Asterina platystoma, Cke. and Mass., and Myriocephalum castanospermi, Cke. 
and Mass., often injure the leaflets of this tree. 
Wood with usually a large quantity of dark-coloured heartwood, prized by cabinetmakers and 
turners • the outer wood of a yellow colour. The wood shrinks very much in drying. The 
foliage is thought to he deleterious to stock should they browse on it in times of drought. — 
Bailey’s Cat. Ql. Woods No. 122. 
