pressed around each seed. The oblong' flattened 

 brown seeds are % inch long'. Pods are produced 

 in ijreat quantities, long: persistent on tlie branches, 

 late in opening, remaining after the leaves are 

 shed. Flowering from April to September and 

 with fniits nearly through the year. 



The sapwood is whitisli, and the heart wood light 

 yellowish brown to light brown. The wood is 

 moderately hard, coarse-grained, strong, and fairly 

 durable. It seasons well and worlcs and polishes 

 easily. In Puerto Rico used only for fuel and 

 posts. Elsewhere the wood has been employed for 

 furniture, paneling, veneering, turnery, and gen- 

 ei'al construction. The bariv has served in tanning, 

 and a few parts of tlie tree in medicines. 



Propagated readily from seed, the trees grow 

 well in diy areas, where they are sufficiently hardy 

 to become naturalized. Reported to be tolerant 

 of salt spray and suitable also near .seashores. 



Planted for shade and ornament along roadsides 

 and aroinid hou.ses, and naturalized in pastures and 

 on hillsides in the moist and dry coastal regions 

 of Puerto Rico. Also in Culebra, Vieques, St. 

 Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and Tortola. 



R.\NGE. — Native probably of tropical Asia in- 

 cluding India and Burma but now widely planted 

 and naturalized tln'ough the tropics. Southern 



Florida including Florida Keys, Bermuda, and 

 throughout West Indies. Also from British Hon- 

 duras through Central America and South 

 America to Brazil. 



Other common names. — lengua de mujer, len- 

 gua viperina, casia amarilla, acacia, aroma, amor 

 platonico (Puerto Rico) ; woman's-tongue, tibet- 

 tree (Virgin Islands) ; chacha (Dominican Repub- 

 lic) ; algarrobo de olor, aroma francesa, forest ina, 

 cabellos de angel, miisico (Cuba) ; acacia, canjuro 

 (El Salvador) ; pisquin, muche, carbonero de som- 

 brio, guarmuche, dormilon (Colombia) ; barba de 

 caballero, saman (Venezuela) ; lebbek, lebbek al- 

 bizia (United States) ; koko (United States, com- 

 merce) ; tiljet-tree, woman's-tongue, siris-tree 

 (English) ; black-ebony (Bermuda) ; singer-tree, 

 wliistling-bean (Bahamas) ; shack-shack, West- 

 Indies-ebony, East-Indian-walnut (Trinidad) ; 

 tcha-tcha, bois noir (Haiti) ; vieille fille (Guade- 

 loupe) ; barba di junkuman (Dutch West Indies) ; 

 corac^ao de negro (Brazil). 



The peculiar rattling sound produced by the con- 

 tinual movement of the dry pods in the wind is the 

 origin of the common name of woman's-tongue 

 (lengiia de mujer) and in Cuba the more pleasant 

 one. miisico (musical). 



The generic name is spelled also Alhizzia. 



LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE) 

 MIMOSA SUBFAMILY (MIMOSOIDEAE; MIMOSACEAE) 



61. Albizia, tall albizia 



This exotic tree of relatively recent introduction 

 i.c planted along roadsides and in gardens. It is 

 identified by : (1) twice pinnate leaves (bipinnate) 

 1-2 feet long, witli many oblong leaflets reddish in 

 color when firet produced, %-li/^ inches long and 

 yi6-% iiich wide, short-pointed at both ends and 

 vei-y oblique at base; (2) .showy flowers numerous 

 in whitish balls with many spreading stamens 

 about % inch across; and (3) thin flat pods 3-7 

 inches long and nearly % inch broad, rich red but 

 turning to brown, containing a central row of 

 <>-12 elliptic flattened green-brown seeds about 14 

 incji long. From acacia amarilla {Albizia lebbek 

 (L.) Benth.*) it dift'ers in having smaller flowers 

 and seed pods and in the larger number of lateral 

 axes in the leaf, 4-7 pairs. 



A rapidlv growing deciduous tree becoming 

 30-60 feet tall with 'straight trunk 1-2 feet in di- 

 ameter, few branches, and spreading thin crown. 

 The bark is smoothish, varying from very light 

 brown to whitish or light greenish gray. Inner 

 bark is soft and pinkish with a strong, peculiar, 

 bitter, astringent, and irritating taste. The stout 

 twigs are greenish brown, with many small longi- 

 tudinal ridges. 



The yellow-green axis of the alternate leaves 

 Itears an elliptic gland 14 inch long on upper side 

 near the enlarged base and 4-7 pairs of slender 



Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth.* 



lateral axes (pinnae). There are 6-14 pairs of 

 leaflets with short stalks '/jc inch long on each lat- 

 eral axis. The thin leaflet blades with the side 

 nearer axis much broader, not toothed on edges, 

 the upper surface dull green, and the lower surface 

 pale gray green and inconspicuously hairy. 



Flowers are borne on several lateral axes (ra- 

 cemes) 3-9 inches long near the end of a twig. 

 An individual flower is stalkless and nearly % 

 inch long, including the stamens, and has a gi-een- 

 ish 5-toothed calyx tube about Vs inch long; a 

 whitish narrow corolla nearly 14 inch long includ- 

 ing tube and 5 pointed hairy lobes; many white 

 threadlike spreading stamens about Vie inch long, 

 united into a tube in lower part; and pistil with 

 small narrow ovary and threadlike style. 



The pods, long-pointed at both ends, contain 

 6-12 seeds and have an enlarged dark spot outside 

 each seed. Later they split open along 1 side to 

 expose the papery walls and release the seeds. At 

 maturity the large masses of red pods against the 

 green foliage are showy, and then the brown dead 

 open pods remain on the tree for some time, until 

 the whole twig bearing the pods is shed. These 

 pods and fallen leaves make undesii-able litter in 

 lawns and gardens. Recorded in flower in Augu.st 

 and September and in fruit from January to June. 



The sapwood is whitish to light yellow, and 



148 



