LEGUMINOSiE. 
295 
subulate. Racemes axillary, pendulous : flowers pedicelled, in 
threes, showy, purple, of a disagreeable alliaceous smell. Calyx 
pilose. Wings and keel twice the length of the standard. 
Ovary hairy : style with hairs tufted. Legume about the 
size of the fore-finger, figure of an Italic f, densely covered 
with stinging hairs of a brownish colour : seeds oblong, varie- 
gated, with the hilum white. 
The root of this plant is stated by Browne, to be a powerful 
diuretic and cleanser, and the vinous tincture of the pods to be 
a certain remedy for dropsy. Grainger says, that a fowl stuffed 
with Cowitch, and made into broth, has sometimes carried off a 
dropsy by stool or urine. The plant, however, is principally 
known in medicine from the sharp seta} which cover the pods, 
having been found a valuable remedy in destroying in- 
testinal worms. Their action appears to be, like that of tin 
filings, merely mechanical, since their efficacy is destroyed by 
the process of boiling. When the remedy is to be given, the 
pods are dipt into thick syrup, molasses, or honey, and, after 
scraping off the hairs or setae, are withdrawn. Of this mix- 
ture, a dessert spoonful is given for several mornings, followed 
by a brisk purgative, which seldom fails to bring away the 
worms dead. It may be given with perfect safety, as it is 
never known to produce any disagreeable effects in swallowing, 
or any unusual sensation in the bowels. Of late years, it has 
been neglected, having been in a great measure superseded by 
turpentine, which is equally efficacious, and more conveniently 
administered. When the setie have accidentally come in con- 
tact with the hands or with the skin of any part of the body, 
the stinging sensation may be relieved by rubbing so as to 
bruise the hairs, and by afterwards smearing the part with oil ; 
or, it is said, that the setae will attach themselves to the rim of 
a hat passed over the part, and thus be withdrawn. 
XXIX. Cajanus. Pigeon Pea. 
Calyx campanulate, 5-lid ; divisions subulate, re- 
curved at the apex ; the two upper ones united for 
some way. Standard large, bicallose at the base ; 
keel obtuse, straight. Stamens diadelphous (9 and 1). 
Legume oblong, compressed, torulose with oblique 
strangulations, bivalved. Seeds many, subspherical, 
separated by membranaceous isthmi — De Cand . 
Shrubs, subvelutine ; leaves pinnato-trifoliate, with the leaf- 
lets stipulated ; racemes axillary ; pedicels in pairs, from a sin- 
gle bractea; flowers yellow. — Name , from Cojan or Cadjan , 
the African designation of the Pea. 
