LEGUMlNOSAi. 
325 
obtuse, wedge-sliaped at the base, minutely puberulous above, 
glabrous beneath, obscurely nerved, about an inch in length : 
common petiole terete, jointed at the insertion of the pinnae, 
curved between the joints, coloured, i n can o- puberulous : pe- 
tioles of the pinnae thickened towards the base : petioles of the 
pinnules angulose. A filiform puberulous glandule between 
each pair of pinnae, pinnules, and leaflets. A glandular slit on 
each side of the insertion of the common petiole, occupying the 
place of stipules, llaceme panicled, axillary, shorter than the 
leaf, solitary : peduncle elongated, subterete, incano-puberulous : 
divisions alternate. Flowers pedieelled, 3—4 together, furnish- 
ed at their insertion with linear bracteas. Sepals 5, subequal, 
oblong, reflected, white tinged with crimson, minutely tomen- 
tuloso-puberulous. Petals 5, one of them erect, the others 
subreflected ; spathulato-oblong, white with a yellow tinge, 
stained with crimson externally near the base. Stamens un- 
equal in length ; 5 of them sterile ; filaments subulate, villous 
externally at the base: anthers yellow. Ovary pedieelled, 
oblong, 3-quetrous, incano-pubescent : style filiform: stigma 
simple. Legume seldom more than a foot in length, 3-quetrous, 
3-valved : seeds 15-16. 
This tree is a native of the East Indies, and was introduced 
into this Island in the year 1784 by East, Esq. It has 
since that been very generally cultivated, and is now to be met 
with every where. It grows readily from cuttings, so that a 
stake driven into the ground immediately takes root. It is a 
ver^r ornamental, and also very useful tree. All parts of the 
plant are acrid to the taste. The root vesicates, and may be 
applied pounded as a rubefacient : it has the taste, and forms a 
very excellent substitute for Horse-radish. Sheep and hogs 
are very fond of the young branches and leaves ; and a fine blue 
dye may be obtained from the wood. It has long been sup- 
posed, that it was from the seeds of this species, that the valua- 
ble oil, known by the name of the oil of Ben or Behn , was pro- 
cured. It appears, however, that it is obtained from a different 
species, Mokinga apteka, DC ., which has not yet been in- 
troduced into this Island. It is a native of the East-Indies, and 
distinguished by the seeds being triquetrous and not winged. 
(Ga;rtn. Fruct. II. 315.) A very excellent palatable oil, how- 
ever, may be procured, by expression, from the seeds of the 
plant before us. 
XLIII. Guilandina. 
Calycine sepals o, nearly equal, united at the base 
into a short urceolate tube. Petals 5 , sessile, sub- 
equal. Stamens 10, with the filaments villous at the 
base. Style short. Legume ovate, ventricoso-com- 
pressed, externally ecb mated, 2-valved, 1-3-seeded : 
