584 CASSIACEAE 



Corolla apparently papilionaceous: leaves with 1-folioliate blades. 1. Cercis. 



Corolla more or less irregular, sometimes nearly regular : leaves with pinnately 

 compound blades. 

 Leaves with simply pinnate blades. 



Corolla essentially regular, the 5 petals nearly equal : calyx-lobes obtuse. 2. Cassia. 

 Corolla very irregular, one of the lateral petals (standard) and the lowest 

 petal large, the other 3 petals often greatly reduced : calyx-lobes acu- 

 minate. " ' 3. Chamaecrista. 

 Lea%'es with 2-pinnate blades. 



Flowers dioecious or polygamous. 



Flower with a very small receptacle: stamens surpassing the petals: 



T)od leathery. 4. Gleditsia. 



Flower with a long receptacle : stamens shorter than the petals : pod 



woody. 5. Gymnocladus. 



Flowers perfect. 



Leaf with a very short petiole which ends in a spine, each division with 



a long flat iihyllode-like rachis. 6. Parkinsoxia. 



Leaf with a relatively long petiole, the rachises of the divisions not 

 phyllode-like. 

 Shrubs or trees. 



Calyx-lobes valvate. 



Armed shrubs or trees ; leaf-divisions with few leaflets. 7. Cercidium. 



Unarmed trees : leaf-divisions with very many leaflets. 8. Delonix. 



Calyx-lobes imbricated. 



Pods smooth. 9. Poinciana. 



Pods prickle-armed. 10. Guilandina. 



Herbs. , 11. Hoffmanseggia. 



1. CERCIS L. 



Unarmed shrubs or small trees, with a scaly bark. Leaves alternate, deciduous, 1- 

 foliolate : leaflet with a simple entire long-petioled blade. Flowers perfect, in axillary 

 clusters or racemes on the branchlets of a previous year. Sepals united into a campanu- 

 late 5-lobed calyx which is swollen on one side and lined with a thin disk in the bottom. 

 Corolla pink or rose : petals 5, nearly equal, clawed : standard smallest : wings obliquely 

 truncate : keel-petals somewhat auricled on one side. Stamens 10, in 2 rows : filaments 

 distinct, conspicuously enlarged and pilose below the middle, those opposite the petals 

 shorter : anthers versatile, opening lengthwise. Ovary short-stipitate, oblique. Ovules 

 anatropous. Pods narrow, very flat, leathery, 2-valved, the ventral suture with 2 narrow 

 wings. Seeds flat, transverse, with a reddish brown crustaceous testa. Endosperm horny. 

 The plants flower in the spring. Red-bud. Judas-tkee. 



Blades of the leaflets not acuminate : pods sessile or nearly so. 1. C. occidentalii. 



Blades of the leaflets manifestly acuminate : pods manifestly stipitate. 2. C. CanadenBia. 



1. Cercis occident^lis Torr. A slender small tree, sometimes 12 m. tall, with gla- 

 brous foliage. Blades of the leaflets suborbicular varying to reniform, 4-12 cm. in diameter, 

 rounded or obtuse at the apex, cordate, lustrous above ; petioles stout, much shorter than 

 the blades : pedicels 1.5-2 cm. long, or sometimes shorter : calyx 3-4 mm. long ; lobes 

 acute or acutish, much shorter than the tube : corolla similar to that of the following 

 species : pods linear-oblong, 6-9 cm. long, acuminate at both ends, sessile or nearly so. 



In valleys, Texas and northern Mexico. Spring. 



2. Cercis Canadensis L. A shrub or small tree rarely 15 mm. tall, with glabrous 

 or sometimes pubescent foliage. Blades of the leaflets suborbicular in outline varying to 

 broadly ovate or reniform, 6-12 cm. in diameter, acuminate at the apex, somewhat lustrous 

 above, truncate or cordate at the base ; petioles shorter than the blades : pedicels slender, 

 0.5-1.5 cm. long : calyx 3-4 mm. high ; lobes rounded, shorter then the tube : corolla 

 pink-purple ; standard with an oval blade, 7-8 mm. long ; keel petals concave, about 1 cm. 

 long: pods linear-oblong, 5-10 cm. long, acuminate at both ends, short-stipitate, often 

 glaucous. 



In rich soil, Ontario to Minnesota, New Jersey, Florida and Texas. Spring. 



2. CASSIA L.' 



Herbs, shrubs or trees, various in habit, with evenly pinnate leaves, and mostly yellow 

 flowers in terminal or 'axillary panicles or racemes. Petiole often with one or several 

 glands borne near the base or between the leaflets. Calyx-lobes 5, obtuse, somewhat 

 leathery. Petals 5, spreading, nearly equal, imbricated. Stamens 5 or 10, all perfect or 

 the 3 upper ones reduced to staminodia : filaments unequal : anthers opening by apical 



' Contributed by Mr. Charles Louis Pollard. 



