450 
XLIII. LEGUMINOS^E. 
[ CtBsalpinia . 
stigma. Pod flattened, obliquely ovate, oblong or broadly linear-falcate, without 
prickles, 2-valved. Seeds thick or flattened, with a very small hilum ; albumen 
none ; radicle short, straight. — Shrubs, trees or woody climbers, often armed with 
scattered recurved prickles. Leaves abruptly bipinnate. Flowers yellow, in 
racemes, either single in the upper axils or forming terminal panicles. Filaments 
more or less hairy at the base. 
A considerable genus, spread over the tropical regions of the New and the Old World. The 
Australian species are both of them common Asiatic ones. — Benth. 
Pubescent. Pinnaj 4 to 6. Leaflets 8 to 12 pairs, oblong. Pod 2 to 3in. 
long, and about l^in. broad. Seeds nearly round 1. C. Bonducella. 
Glabrous. Pinnse 2 to 4 pairs. Leaflets 2 or 3 pairs, ovate, rather acute. 
Pod ovate, 1-seeded 2. C. nuga. 
Pubescent or tomentose. Pinnae 6 to 8 pairs. Leaflets 8 to 12 pairs, oblong, 
very obtuse. Pod oblong, 6 to 8-seeded 3. C. sepiaria. 
1. C. Bonducella (from Arabic bondog, a necklace), lioxb. FI. hid. ii. 357. 
A shrub with loose spreading or climbing branches, pubescent or villous in all its 
parts, armed wflth numerous scattered hooked prickles, especially on the petioles. 
Leaves with a common petiole of 1 to l|ft., 4 to 7 distant pairs, each 4 to Gin. 
long; leaflets 8 to 12 pairs, oblong, f to lin. long or rarely twice that size. 
Stipules lobed and leafy, deciduous. Racemes 4 to Gin. long, simple or 
branched in the upper axils. Flowers yellow, shortly pedicellate and crowded 
in the upper part. Bracts with a long recurved point. Calyx about 4 lines long. 
Petals scarcely longer. Pod 2 to 3in. long, about liin. broad. Seeds large, 
glabrous or ovoid, of a bluish-grey or lead colour. — Guilandina Bonducella, 
Linn.; Benth. in FI. Austr. ii. 276. 
Hab.: Tropical coastal scrubs. 
Widely spread and often very common, especially near the sea, in tropical Asia, Africa, and 
America. It is usually confounded with G. Bonduc, Linn., which is a much rarer plant, 
although equally found, indigenous or introduced, in East India, in the Archipelago, and in the 
West Indies. It is nearly glabrous, has usually larger leaflets, no stipules; the bracts are 
erect, not recurved, and the seeds are said to be yellow, not grey. It remains to be ascertained 
how far these differences are constant. — Benth. 
2. C. nuga (the Xuga Brasiletto), Ait.; DC. Prod. ii. 481 ; Benth. FI. Amir. 
ii. 277. A woody climber, glabrous in all its parts, armed with a few scattered 
recurved prickles, especially on the petioles. Pinnse 2, 3, or 4 pairs ; leaflets 
2 or 3 pairs to each pinna, ovate, If to 2in. long, usually rather acute, but 
occasionally obtuse, coriaceous and shining. Racemes 4 to Sin. long, forming 
large terminal panicles. Pedicels slender. Lowest sepal about 5 lines long, 
the others shorter. Petals scarcely exceeding the lowest sepal. Ovary with 
2 ovules. Pod obliquely oval, acuminate, flat, with coriaceous valves. Seed 
usually solitary, flat, broad. — C. paniculata, Desf.; DC. Prod. ii. 481 ; Wight, 
Ic. t. 36. 
Hab.: Barnard Islands, M'Gillivray. 
Generally distributed over E. India and the Archipelago, extending to S. China. 
3. *C. sepiaria (used for forming hedges), Roxb.; W. and Am. Prod. 282 ; 
Benth. FI. Austr. ii. 277. A woody climber, the branches, petioles and racemes 
more or less tomentose or pubescent and armed with numerous scattered recurved 
prickles. Pinnae 6 to 10 pairs ; leaflets 8 to 12 pairs, oblong, very obtuse, rarely 
exceeding fin. in length, pubescent or villous when young, often glabrous when 
old. Stipules broad and semisagittate, but very deciduous, or sometimes none. 
Flowers numerous, yellow, in axillary and terminal racemes of 5 or Gin. Pedicels 
longer than the calyx. Bracts ovate, acute, very deciduous. Lowest sepal about 
5 lines long. Petals about 6 lines. Ovary with several ovules. Pod oblong- 
