XXX. LEGUMIN0SH5 
129 
ing from between the bracts, flattened, minutely prickly ; upper 
margin nearly straight, lower deeply indented, dividing the pod 
into 2-5 indehiscent, 1 -seeded joints. 
Valleys below Simla ; July-September. — Throughout India, ascending to 
5000 ft. — Nearly all tropical regions. 
18. SMITHIA. In honour of Sir J. E. Smith, founder of the 
Linnean Society, who died in 1828. — Tropical regions of the Old 
World. 
Smithia ciliata, Boyle ; FI. Br. Ind. ii. 150. An erect, annual 
herb ; stems glabrous, 6-18 in. Leaves pinnate, J-f in. ; rachis 
ending in a bristle ; stipules scarious, persistent ; leaflets 6-12, 
narrowly oblong, J in., obtuse, hairy, sensitive. Flowers pale blue 
or nearly white, in. long, crowded in stalked, axillary, 1 -sided 
racemes in. long. Bracts scarious, persistent. Bracteoles 
fringed, half the length of the calyx. Calyx membranous, nearly 
as long as the corolla, divided almost to the base in two entire, 
fringed lips, the upper the larger. Standard orbicular ; keel 
incurved, obtuse. Stamens all united at first, ultimately splitting 
into two bundles of 5 each. Ovary many-ovuled ; style incurved ; 
stigma minute. Pod rough, flattened, upper margin nearly straight, 
lower deeply indented, forming 6-8 indehiscent, 1 -seeded joints 
folded face to face within the calyx. 
Simla, Naldera, often on grassy slopes ; July-September. — Himalaya, Simla 
to Assam, 3000-6000 ft. 
19. iESCHYNOMENE. From the Greek aischuno, to make 
ashamed, referring to the sensitive leaves collapsing when touched. 
—Tropical and subtropical regions. 
/Eschynomene indica, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. ii. 151. An annual, 
shrubby, glabrous herb ; stems 1-3 ft., erect, much branched. 
Leaves odd-pinnate, 2-3 in., stalk glandular; leaflets 41-61, 
sensitive, alternate, crowded, narrowly oblong, obtuse, diminishing 
in size towards the end of the leaves. Flowers yellow, often 
streaked with purple, \ in. long, in numerous, axillary, glandular 
racemes. Bracts and bracteoles small, lanceolate. Calyx half as 
long as the petals, divided nearly to the base in 2 nearly equal, 
entire or obscurely toothed lips. Standard orbicular, erect ; keel 
nearly straight, obtuse. Stamens all united near the base, ulti- 
mately dividing into two bundles of five each. Style incurved, 
glabrous ; stigma minute. Pod stalked, flattened, smooth, 1-1 1 
in., upper margin nearly straight, lower indented, dividing the pod 
into 7-9 indehiscent, 1 -seeded joints. 
Valleys below Simla ; common on the borders of ricefields ; July-September. 
— Throughout India, ascending to 5000 ft. — All tropical regions of the Old 
World. 
M. aspera, a large, thick- stemmed, perennial plant, is common in marshes 
in Bengal and S. India; the light, white pith is made int toys, solah hats, &c. 
K 
