RAFNIA TRIFLO’RA. 
THREE-FLOWERED RAFNIA. 
EXOGEN^, 
OR 
ill 
f Natural division ■n 
J to which t 
f this plant belongs, j 
DICOTYLEDONEifi 
CALYCIFLOR^, 
OF 
DECAXDOELE. 
NATURAL ORDER, LEGUMINOS^. 
Artificial divisions 
to which 
this Plant belongs. 
! 
No. 214. 
MOXADELPHIA 
DECAXDRIA, 
OF LIXNEUS. 
GENUS. Rafnia. Thunberg. Calfx quinquefidus, lacinia irifima ssep- 
issime angustiore vel reliquis distiiictis, v, plus minus coalitis. Coroll-® jjapili- 
onacpffi vel vexillum subrotundum, carina obtusa v. rostrata. Stamina 10, 
monadelpha. Ovarium sessile vel stipitatum multiovulatum. Stylus filiformis; 
stigma capitatum. Legumen lanceolatum, compi’essum, polyspermum, Herbae 
suflFru-lices capenses, glabri, siccatione saepe nigricantes; foliis caulinis alter- 
niSjimplicibus sessilibus amplexicaulibus, integris, lloralibus oppositis,floribus 
liavis. Endlicher : Genera, page 1260. 
SPECIES. Rafnia triflora CThvsbergJ glauca; foliis petiolatis sub- 
rotundis, ovatis, vel obovatis mucronatis, ramis angulatis, pedunculis in axillis 
superioribus saspius ternis unifloris bibracteatis. 
Character of the Genus, Rafnia. Calyx five-parted, the 
lowest division generally narrowest, the rest distinct, or more or less 
united. The standard of the corolla, which is papilionaceous, is 
roundish. The keel obtuse, beaked. Stamens 10, monadelphous. 
Ovarium sessile, or stipitate, many ovuled. Style filiform. Stigma 
capitate. Legumen lanceolate, compressed, many-seeded. Plants 
sufFruticose, natives of the Cape of Good Hope, smooth, often turning 
black in drying. Stem leaves alternate, simple, sessile, amplexicaul, 
entire, floral leaves opposite. Flowers yellow. 
Description of the Species, Rafnia triflora. The whole 
plant covered with a glaucous hue. Stem suffruticose, angular, 
about 4 feet high. Leaves roundish, ovate, or obovate, mucronate, 
m idrib strong, feather veined; veins anastomosing in the axils of the 
leaves, arranged in threes (but only one flower opening at once); 
standard roundish or ovate, margin reflexed; wings the length of the 
keel; apex acute, and incurved. Keel obtuse, of a paler yellow 
than either the wings or standard. Calyx divided in five parts, 
• 
unequal, the two upper divisions broader than the twm lower ones. 
Stamens filiform, arranged in one set. Anthers dehiscing towards 
the axis. Pollen smooth, spherical. Stigma capitate. Ovarium 
stipulate, smooth, about an inch long, having the dorsal suture strongly 
ribbed. Seeds in the several legumes now before me solitary, and 
