Desmanthus
(from desme, a bundle, and anthos, a flower; the flowers are collected into bundles or spikes). ORD. Leguminosae. A genus of stove perennial suffruticose herbs or shrubs, all the species of which belong to the New World, except one, which occurs everywhere in tropical regions. Flowers all hermaphrodite; calyx campanulate, shortly dentate; petals free, or slightly cohering, valvate. Leaves bipinnate; leaflets small; stipules setaceous, persistent. There are about eight species, one or two of which have been successfully cultivated in this country. In their native habitats, all are more or less ornamental.