Neptunia Lour.

Generally herbs but sometimes somewhat woody, of moist or swampy ground and sometimes free-floating on ponds or quiet water, the branchlets unarmed, not lenticellate, in most species glabrous, occasionally spongy-inflated in submerged stems. Leaves usually moderate, bipinnate, the pinnae opposite, few, the pairs moderately remote, the leaflets several to many pairs, small; petiole prominent, glandular or eglandular; rachis similar to and usually approximating the petiole, eglandular; leaflets nearly linear, inequilateral basally, usually glabrous but often ciliate, the venation prominent or obscure; stipules conspicuous, often cordate-subclasping, sometimes striate-nerved. Inflorescence of axillary, pedunculate heads or very short spikes, usually solitary; peduncles elongate, commonly bearing 2 small or large bracts; heads dense, mostly obovoid, the basal flowers staminate or sterile and smaller in bud, the upper flowers perfect, larger in bud. Flowers sessile, usually yellowish, the basal ones with prominent petaloid staminodia, the perfect ones relatively inconspicuous; calyx synsepalous, more or less cupulate, 5-parted; corolla of 5 free petals or these in some cases coherent near the middle (but free below and above), usually glabrous; stamens or staminodia mostly 10, free; ovary generally 'glabrous, the stout style elongate and bearing an expanded stigma. Legume short and broad, flat, unarmed, 2-valved, not septate nor the valves sep-arating from the margins, the seeds transverse.