virgilia

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of leguminous trees of the tribe Sophoreæ. It is characterized by papilionaceous rose-purple flowers with a broad banner-petal, falcate wings, and connate keelpetals, and by a sessile ovary which becomes a coriaceous, wingless, flattened two-valved pod. The only species, V. Capensis, is an evergreen tree of Cape Colony, from 15 to 30 feet high, cultivated under the name Cape Virgilia; it bears pinnate leaves with small leaflets, and handsome flowers in short terminal racemes. V. lutea, the American yellow-wood, is now referred to Cladrastis.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. genus of South African trees having pinnate leaves and rose-purple flowers followed by leathery pods