Swartzia
(named in honour of Olaf Swartz, M.D., of Stockholm, 1760-1818, a long time resident in the West Indies, author of "Flora Indiae Occidentalis"). ORD. Leguminosae. A genus comprising nearly sixty species of unarmed, stove trees; one is a native of tropical Africa, and the rest inhabit tropical America. Flowers racemose, or one to a peduncle; calyx firmly closed, but ultimately splitting; corolla sometimes wanting, when present consisting of only one petal (standard). or rarely two or three; stamens indefinite. Pods ovoid or elongated, turgid or sub-terete. Leaves imparipinnate or one-foliolate. Only two species call for description here. They should be grown in a mixture of sandy loam and peat. Cuttings, with the leaves intact, will root in sand, under a glass, in heat.
S. grandiflora (large-flowered). fl. yellow, three to five in a corymb, the one petal 1in. or more in diameter. June. l., leaflet single, 3in. to 5in. long, elliptic-oblong, with a bluntish point, glabrous, undulated; petioles short. h. 6ft. West Indies, 1821. SYN. S. simplicifolia. S. pinnata (pinnate-leaved). fl. yellowish, the one petal roundish, glabrous, half as long again as the calyx; pedicels fascicled; racemes elongated, tomentose-pubescent, longer than the calyx. June. l., leaflets five, 6in. to 12in. long, elliptic-oblong, pointed, glabrous. h. 6ft. West Indies, 1817. S. simplicifolia (simple-leaved). A synonym of S. grandiflora.