The main axis of the alternate leaves is gfreen, 

 tinged with brown, with 2-5 pairs of lateral axes 

 (pinnae), and the latter eacli bearing 11-21 leaf- 

 lets. The leaflets also are alternate on short stalks 

 less than % i'^cli long and with blades %,-l% 

 inches long and %-% inch broad, edges not 

 toothed, minutely and verj' inconspicuously hairy 

 on both sides, dull green on upper surface, and 

 blue green beneath. 



Flower clusters (racemes) are lateral and ter- 

 minal, slender and unbranched, with many small 

 flowers on stalks about Ys inch long. The tiny 

 light green calyx Vjg inch long is bell-shaped, 5- 

 tootlied; the 5 spreading, narrow, pointed, petals 

 i/g inch long; 10 stamens a little longer than petals, 

 pale yellow with brown anthers; and pistil %g inch 

 long with light green 1-celled ovary and slender 

 style. 



The dark brown pods are V2-% inch broad, 

 curved, somewhat fleshy, flattened between seeds, 

 splitting into 2 parts and twisting upon opening. 

 The several showy seeds (about 1,600 to a pound) 

 adhere to the opened pods. Flowering usually 

 from late summer to winter (August to January), 

 the fruit maturing in fall and winter and remain- 

 ing attached for some time. 



The sapwood is light brown and hard. Heart- 

 wood is reddish. The wood is hard, heavy (specific 

 gravity 0.6-0.8), strong, and durable. It is used 

 as roundwood or fiiel. Elsewhere the wood has 

 been employed in construction and cabinetwork 

 and is the source of a red dye. 



This is a shade tree and ornamental in Puerto 

 Rico. In Malaya grown as a shade tree for plan- 

 tation crops. The shiny bright colored seeds after 

 softening in boiling water serve as beads in neck- 

 laces and novelties. 



Naturalized in the coastal and moist limestone 

 regions of Puerto Eico. Also in St. Thomas, St. 

 John, and Tortola. 



Public forests. — Cambalache, Guajataca, Mari- 

 cao, Rio Abajo, Vega. 



Range. — Native of tropical Asia, fii-st described 

 from India. Planted and naturalized in other 

 tropical regions including West Indies from Cuba 

 and Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago. Grown in 

 southern Florida and California. Cultivated in 

 Dutcli West Indies and South America fi'om 

 Venezuela to Brazil but very rare in Central 

 America. 



Other common names. — coralitos, coral, mato 

 Colorado, palo de mato, peronias chatas (Puerto 

 Rico) ; Circassian-bean, coquelicot (Virgin Is- 

 lands) ; coralitos, peonia (Dominican Republic) ; 

 coralin, coral, coralillo (Cuba) ; sandal beadtree, 

 red sandalwood, Circassian-bean, Circassian-seed 

 (United States) ; red sandalwood, Circassian-seed 

 (Jamaica, Trinidad) ; I'eglise (Grenadines) ; 

 jumbie-bead (Trinidad) ; buckbead (British Gui- 

 ana) ; reglisse, arbre a reglisse, arbre a graines 

 reglisse, corail vegetal (Guadeloupe) ; pau tento, 

 tento Carolina (Brazil). 



LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE) 



MIMOSA SUBFAMILY (MIMOSOIDEAE; MIMOSACEAE) 



60. Acacia amarilla, tibet, lebbek Albizia lebbek (L.) Benth.* 



A common introduced roadside tree of the drier 

 areas, acacia amarilla is characterized by: (1) 

 twice pinnate leaves (bipinnate) 6-16 inches long, 

 with 2-4 pairs of lateral axes and with many ob- 

 long leaflets %~1% inches long and %-% inch 

 broad, rounded at both ends and very oblique at 

 base; (2) quantities of many fragrant cream- 

 colored flowers clustered together at end of a lat- 

 eral stalk in a rounded mass 2-3 inches across the 

 many tlireadlike, spreading, whitish to yellow 

 stamens tipped with light green; and (3) flat, 

 broad, straw-colored pods 4-8 inches or more in 

 length and I-IV2 inches broad, usually present in 

 quantities. 



A medium-sized deciduous tree 20^0 feet high 

 and to 114 feet in diameter or larger, with spread- 

 ing crown of thin foliage. The gray bark is 

 smoothish, becoming fissured or rough," the inner 

 barlv pink and bitter. The twigs are greenish, be- 

 coming gray or brown. 



The alternate leaves have a greenish or yellow- 

 brown leaf axis bearing a small elliptic gland on 

 upper side near base and 2-4 pairs of lateral axes 



(pinnae), each with 4-9 pairs of leaflets. Leaf- 

 lets have very short stalks less than Yie inch long 

 and thin blades, with the midrib not in center and 

 sometimes a second prominent vein from base, the 

 edges not toothed, dull green above, and beneath 

 light green and sometimes minutely hairy. The 

 terminal leaflets are broadest above middle 

 (obovate). 



Rounded clusters (umbels or heads) of many 

 spreading short-stalked narrow flowers are borne 

 at the end of lateral stalks 1V2-4 inches long, 

 singly or 2-4 together, each flower on a short slen- 

 der hairy stalk almost V^ inch long. The indi- 

 vidual flower II/4-I14 inches long to end of stamens 

 has a tubular 5-toothed hairy calyx i/g inch long, 

 narrow tubular white corolla Yi^ inch long includ- 

 ing 5 pointed lobes hairy at end ; many threadlike 

 spreading stamens united into a tube near base, 

 whitish turning yellow, and light green toward 

 tip; and pistil of narrow ovary and threadlike 

 style. 



The seed pod, short-pointed at both ends, con- 

 tains a row of several seeds and is swollen and de- 



146 



