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L- ^ ■ ■ 



PEEKIXS — THE LEGUMI^^OSAE OF POETO RICO 



165 



23. POINCIANA L. 



Poinciana L. Sp. PI. 1: 3S0. 1753. 

 PowaalSECK. Elom. 2: 449. 1790. 

 Delonix Raf. Sylva Trllur. 2: 92. 183G. 



Calyx with a very t^hort turbinate roceplacle, sometimes with ahnost none; seg- 

 ments 5, nearly equal, valvate in estivation: petals 5, round, imbrieate, nearly equal, 

 or th(^ posterior on<^ <liffen^nt from the others; stamens 10, free^ deflexed; lilaments 

 slightly villous at the l)ase, toward the top infk^xed; ovar\' sessile, free, multiovulate; 

 style filiform, stigma tt^rniinal, eiliolaU^ but slightly dilated; h^gumc eoriaceous, 

 elongated, compressed, obli(iuely veined, '2-valvedj with tit^suc between the seeds; 

 seeds compressed, ellipsoidal or ol)long, transversely disposed, albuminous. — Unarmed 

 trees; leaves bipinnate; leaflets small, numenuis; stipules obscure; flowers hand- 

 some, orange or scarlet, corynd>ose at the ends of \\\v l)ranches; bracts small, caducous; 



bracteoles wanting. 



1. Poinciana regia Boj.; Hook.f* 



(Urban, 278.) 



Tree 15 to 20 meters high; leaves 20 to 40 cm. long; pinnae 8 to 20-jugate, multi- 

 foliolate; leaflets oblong, 7 mm. long, 3 mm, wide, blunt at each extremity, upon 

 very short petioles; flowers scarlet; calyx 2,5 cm. long; petals 5.5 cm. long, the claw 

 2 cm. long, the lamina orbicular, 3.5 cm. in diameter; vexillum white with a pinkish 

 lint; legume 12 to 37 cm. long, 3 to 4.5 cm. wide. 



Cultivated and seemingly wild in Fajardo on the public squareS; in Cabo Rojo, in 

 the market place; near ^layaguez. — Bahama, Iluiti, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Guade- 

 loupe (Duss), Martiniquis Margarita. Native of Madagascar, but cultivated on 

 account of its beauty on the east and west coasts of Africa, in India, and in other 



parts of the Tropics. 



This magnificent tree, with its briglit scarlet flowers and fern-like leaves, is the 

 handsomest of the Caesalpinioideae. Wood wliite, light, soft, and loose-grained; 



takes a fine polish. 



Local names, flamhoydn^ flamboydn Colorado. 



24. CAESALPINIA L, 



Caesal pinia L. Sp. PI. 1: 380, 1753. 



Calyx with short or very short receptacle; segments 5, imbricate, the lowermost 

 one concave or boat-shaped and usually larger than the others; petals 5, orbicular, 

 sometimes oblong, spreading, strongly imbricate, subequal or the uppermost one 

 smaller; stamens 10, free, deflexed; filaments usually villous or glandular at the 

 base; ovary sessile, free, the ovules few; style terete, often filiform, sometimes 

 clavate at the top; stigma terminal, truncate or concave; legume ovoid, oblong, 

 lanceolate or falcate, compressed, someLiiaes with thickened sutures, coriaceous, 

 flat or turgid, sometimes 2-valved, sometimes indehiscent or later slightly 2-valvedj 

 often pulpy between tbe seeds; seeds tranvserse, ovoid or globose, exalbuminous (or 

 albuminous in C. pulcherrima). — Trees or often high-climlnng shrubs, unarmed or 

 with scattered prickles; leaves bipinnate; leatlols small and numerous or large and 

 few, membranous or coriaceous; stipules various; flowers yellow or red, often hand- 

 some, in lax simple or panicled racemes, axillary or on the ends of the branches. 

 Bracts wanting. 



« For illustration see Cook and Collins, pi. 54, facing p. 223. 



