310 Dr. Francis Hamilton's Comwen/ary 



says the Malabars give to the Tala or Tbra of Ceylon, is evidently 

 the same word with the Tagera of Rheede, although Plukenet 

 distinguishes the plants from one having two and the other three 

 pair of leaflets, a very insufficient mark of distinction. 



Willdenow (Sp. PL ii. 515.) with propriety, as a mere editor 

 of Linnaeus, continues to describe the Cassia Tagera in the words 

 of the original author ; but he quotes with doubt the Tagera of 

 Rheede ; and he extends this doubt to the plant of Ammannus, 

 quoted by Linnaeus, as the Tagera of the latter was a fruticuhis 

 procumbens, while the plant of Ammannus is arborescent, and 

 the Tagera of Rheede is a strong annual plant two or three feet 

 high. Far, however, from attending to the mark of distinction 

 pointed out by Plukenet of the Tagera having four leaflets and 

 the Tora six, Willdenow in the specific character of both has folia 

 trijuga ; but, to show how little consequence he attached to num- 

 ber, in describing the Tagera foliis irijugis, he sa.ys foliola quatuor. 

 As a variety of the C Tora Willdenow adds an American plant 

 described by Plumier ; while he removes the Gallinaria roiundi- 

 folia of Rumphius, and joins it with another American plant, the 

 C obtusifolia of Linnaeus ; but, as I have said, I think that this 

 plant of Rumphius can be scarcely considered as different from 

 the Tagera. 



Neither Roxburgh (Hort. Beng. 31.) nor the Hortus Kewensis 

 (iii. 25.) quotes either Rheede or Rumphius for the C. Tora. The 

 plant, however, which is meant in both works is probably the 

 same, that is, the Cassia siliqua qiiadrangulari of Dillenius and 

 the elder Burman {Thes. Zeyl. 5Q ), although most of the sjmo- 

 nyma quoted by the latter are by Willdenow rejected as belong- 

 ing to a variety, or rather to a distinct species. Some of these 

 synonyma at least belong to a plant, which I found very com- 

 mon in Mysore, and sent the seeds to Dr. Roxburgh, who con- 

 sidered it as forming a species very nearly allied to the C. Tora, 



and 



