Cadaba farinosa Forssk., Fl. Aegypt.- Arab. 68. 1775. Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 1:173.1872; Elffers et al, l.c. 75; Hedge & Lamond, l.c. 10.
Shrubs, much branched with slender to twiggy tangled branches, up to 5 m high; young twigs farinose with small white waxy sessile scales, becoming glabrous with age. Leaves petiolate, oblong-ovate or elliptic-oblong with more or less rounded apex; blade 5-50 mm long, 3-30 mm broad, farinaceous; petiole 3-5 mm long. Flowers in few-flowered (5-10-fld. generally) shortly subcorymbose racemes, 10-17 mm across, usually creamy-yellow; pedicel 5-15 mm long. Outer sepals 5-14 mm long, oblong-ovate, concave, acute, covered with scales; inner sepals flattish, less acute. Petals 10-14 mm long, 3-4 mm broad (incl. 4-5 mm long claw), limb narrowly elliptic-lanceolate. Disk-appendix 5-8 mm long, fimbriate. Andro¬phore 5-8 mm long. Stamens 5 or 4, filaments more or less fused below, free and spreading above, 1-2 cm long. Gynophore about 15 mm long, usually covered with scales. Fruit narrowly cylindrical, 20-50 mm long, 3-4 mm broad, obscurely torulose, farinaceous, many seeded; seeds c.2.5 mm in diam., surrounded by orange flesh.
Type: Arabia, Mor, Forsskhal (C).
Distribution: Arabia, Egypt, Trop. Africa, W. Pakistan and India.
The type race is distinguished by rather dense but few flowered (usually 5-10-fld.) subcorymbose raceme and branches often slender, apparently unarmed.
