三叉刺属 san cha ci shu

Authors: Puhua Huang & Hiroyoshi Ohashi

Shrubs, erect, spinose. Spines rigid, straight, sharp, 3-fid. Leaves 1-foliolate, entire; stipules scarious, striate; stipels minute. Ra­cemes axillary, short; bracts broadly ovate, minute; bracteoles absent. Calyx membranous; tube short, 5-lobed; lobes ovate-lanceo­late, lower lobes 3, upper 2 lobes connate. Corolla purple; standard broadly obovate, base cuneate, not or very shortly clawed; wings narrowly elliptic; keel slightly falcate, apex obtuse. Stamens diadelphous. Ovary linear, ca. 6-ovuled. Legume (3-)5-7-jointed; upper suture straight or slightly undulate, lower suture deeply undulate between articles.

One species: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam.

Lower Taxon

• Trifidacanthus unifoliolatus Merrill