tree (United States, English) ; cassia-stick-tree 

 (Jamaica) ; Indian laburnum, purj^ing cassia 

 (Trinidad); casse (Haiti); canefice, caneficier, 

 casse-habitant ((iiiadeloupe) . 



Caiiafistula cimarrona or pinkshower cassia 

 {Cassia grandis L. f.) is a related tree species of 



southwestern Puerto Rico and elsewhere planted 

 and locally naturalized. It has reddish or pur- 

 plisli flowers and leaves less than 12 inches long 

 with 14-40 oblong leaflets usually less than 2 inches 

 long. Several native species of this genus are 

 shnibs or herbs. 



LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE) 

 CASSIA SUBFAMILY (CAESALPINIOIDEAE; CAESALPINIACEAE) 



73. Casia rosada, pink cassia 



This cultivated ornamental and shade tree dif- 

 fers from related species, such as cahafistula, in 

 having a spreading arched crown and clustere of 

 beautiful large fragrant flowers, bright jjink in- 

 stead of yellow. The leaves are even pinnate, 

 mostly 8-15 inches long, witli usually 16-20 (some- 

 times as few as 10 or up to 30) paired oblong leaf- 

 lets 11/^-214 inclies long and %-l inch broad. The 

 very long, slender, cylindrical, dark brown pods 

 are 16-20 inches long and % inch in diameter and 

 do not split open. 



A medium-sized, generally deciduous, tree 40 

 feet or more in heiglit and 1 foot or more in trunk 

 diameter, tlie trunk occasionally with a few stout, 

 dark gray, spine-tipped branches 2—4 inches long, 

 and with widespread crown of thin foliage. The 

 gray bark is smoothish and thin, with many thin 

 fissures. Inner bark is light brown and slightly 

 bitter. The long sliglitly drooping twigs are green 

 and minutely hairy. 



The leaves are alternate, commonly spreading in 

 2 rows. The leaflets are regularly aiTanged on 

 short stalks \\c-, inch long, nearly equal in size, 

 mostly in pairs along the slender, green, finely 

 hairy a.xis. Leaflet blades are short-pointed or 

 rounded at apex, and thin minutely and inconspic- 

 uously hairy on botli sides, dull green above and 

 gray green beneath. 



Flower clusters (panicles) are lateral, 5-9 inches 

 long and broad, containing many large rose- 

 scented flowers about 2 inches aci-oss, each on a 

 long, slender, dark red, finely hairy stalk l-ll/^ 

 inches long and slightly curved upward. There 

 are 5 concave, pointed, dark red, finely hairy .sepals 



Cassia javanica L.* 



1/4 inch long, greenish tinged inside ; 5 spreading 

 oblong pink petals 1-11/4 inches long, short-stalked 

 at base and rounded at apex, minutely haii-y, with 

 reddish veins but the color of petals fading to 

 wjiitish witli age; 10 yellow stamens, 3 about li^ 

 inches long and with a swelling beyond middle, 

 and 7 about V2 inch long; and 1 slender, curved, 

 reddish pistil 114: inches long, consisting of staJk, 

 narrow 1-celled ovary, style, and stigma. 



The pods, which hang downward, contain nu- 

 merous rounded and flattened shiny brown seeds 

 14, inch in diameter, each in a separate disklike 

 pulpy compartment, 1,600 to a pound. Flowering 

 mainly from May to July and occasionally 

 through the summer and fall. 



The soft wood witli whitish sapwood is not gen- 

 erally used in Puerto Rico. 



A fast-growing tree of relatively recent intro- 

 duction to Puerto Rico but increasing in popu- 

 larity and certain to become commoner. 



Planted along streets and in yards, chiefly in the 

 larger cities of Puerto Rico. Also in Virgin 

 Islands. 



Raxge. — Native from eastern Himalayas of 

 India to Malaya. Planted for ornament in vari- 

 ous tropical regions. Introduced in southern 

 Florida. 



Other COMMON names. — acacia rosada (Puerto 

 Rico) ; nodding cassia (Virgin Islands) ; pink 

 cassia, apple-blossom cassia, apple-blossom senna, 

 pink-and-white shower, Javanese cassia, joint- 

 wood, jointwood senna (English). 



Botanical synonym. — Cassia nodosa Hamilt. 



172 



