20. Pterolobium R. Brown ex Wight & Arnott, Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient. 283. 1834.
老虎刺属 lao hu ci shu
Authors: Dezhao Chen, Prof. Dianxiang Zhang & Ding Hou
Cantuffa J. F. Gmelin; Reichardia Roth (1821), not Roth (1787), nor Roth (1800).
Shrubs, climbing, tall, or woody climbers. Branches with recurved prickles. Leaves abruptly bipinnate, alternate; pinnae and leaflets numerous; stipules and stipels caducous, small or obscure. Racemes or panicles axillary or terminal; bracts caducous, subulate to linear. Flowers whitish or yellowish, small; bracteoles absent. Receptacle discoid. Sepals 5, imbricate, lowermost navicular, larger, emarginate. Petals 5, spreading, oblong or obovate, slightly unequal, with imbricate sepals. Stamens 10, free, subequal, declined; filaments sometimes villous at bases; anthers uniform, cells opening by lateral slits. Ovary sessile, ovoid, inserted at base of receptacle, free, 1- or 2-ovuled; style short or elongated and clavate at apex; stigma terminal, truncate or concave. Legume sessile, compressed, samaroid, indehiscent, upper part produced into an oblique oblong or falcate, membranous wing. Seed pendulous at apex of locules, without endosperm; cotyledons flat; radicle short, straight.
About ten species: tropical and subtropical Africa, mostly in Asia to Indonesia and the Philippines; two species in China.
