Canavalia
(from Canavali, the name of one of the species in Malabar). ORD. Leguminosoe. A genus of elegant twining or climbing stove herbs or sub-shrubs. Flowers in racemes, produced from the axils of the leaves; calyx bell-shaped, two-lipped; corolla papilionaceous. Leaves trifoliate. They are well adapted for training up the rafters in a stove or warm greenhouse. For culture, see Dolichos.
C. bonariensis (Buenos Ayres). fl. purple; racemes drooping, longer than the leaves. July and August. l., leaflets ovate, obtuse, coriaceous, glabrous. Buenos Ayres, 1824. (B. R. 1199.) C. ensiformis (ensiform).* fl. white, red, pendulous; racemes longer than the leaves. June. l., leaflets ovate, acute. India, 1790. SYN. C. gladiata. (B. M. 4027.) C. gladiata (sword-podded). Synonymous with C. ensiformis. C. obtusifolia (obtuse-leaved). fl. purple. July, August. l., leaf lets ovate obtuse. Malabar, 1820.