PERKINS THE LEGUMINOSAE OF PORTO RICO. 157 



Leaflets multijugate, very small. 



Leaves subcoriaceous; leaflets 6 or 7, rarely 5 to 11- 

 jugate, oblique, oblong-linear, rounded at the top, 

 8 to 15 mm. long, 2 to 4 mm. wide, glandular; pe- 

 duncle 1 or 2-flowered; legume linear, hairy. 13. C. portoricensis. 

 Leaves membranous. 



Glands stipitate; leaves obtuse or subacute; 

 costa usually in the middle. 



Leaves large, 7.5 cm. long; leaflets 1.1 cm. 

 long, 2 mm. wide; common petiole and 

 legume thinly clothed with white hairs; 

 legume 4.5 cm. long, 5 mm. wide. 14. C. glandulosa. 



Leaves small, 2.5 cm. long; leaflets 5 mm. 

 long, 1 mm. wide; common petiole and 

 legume glabrous; legume 2.5 cm. long, 3 

 mm. wide. 15. C. mirabilis. 



Glands sessile or shortly stipitate; leaves nar- 

 rower, mostly acute ; costa more eccentric. 16. C. nictitans. 



1. Cassia fistula L. 



(Urban, 272.) 



Tree 7 to 20 meters high: flowers in lax drooping racemes, yellow, large: pedicels 

 long: calyx segments oval or oval-oblong, 1 cm. long, obtuse: petals ovate, 2 to 2.5 cm. 

 long; legume pendulous. Flowering in June, fruiting in January. 



Cultivated and seemingly wild near Bayamon; in the Sierra de Luquillo, on the 

 lower slopes of Mount Jimenez near dwellings; near Mayaguez, at Algarrobo. Cuba 

 (Grisebach), Jamaica, Haiti, St. Croix (Eggers), St. Bartholomew (Euphrasen), Gaude- 

 loupe, Martinique, St. Vincent, Bequia (Kew Bull. no. 81, p. 248), Trinidad, Mar- 

 garita. Tropical Asia, frequently planted, but also truly indigenous; in tropical 

 Africa cultivated or escaped from cultivation and possibly indigenous; in America 

 only where planted. 



Cassia fistula and C. grandis are closely related. Both are noticeable on account of 

 their long simple racemes. C. fistula differs from other Porto Rican Cassia species in 

 its very large leaves and in its long pendulous legumes. The latter are cylindrical in 

 form and contain a dark brown, soft, agreeable-tasting pulp that has a slightly purga- 

 tive action. This fruit, called "manna," is considered a delicacy, especially by chil- 

 dren. The bark furnishes a black dye, and is employed in tanning leather, while the 

 wood is valuable for many purposes. 



Local name, canajistula. 



2. Cassia grandis L. f. 



(Urban, 272.) 



Tree 15 to 20 meters high; flowers in drooping, axillary rusty-pubescent racemes; 

 calyx segments rather wide, 6 to 8.5 mm. long, obtuse: petals suborbicular, 1 cm. in 

 diameter; legume 45 to 60 cm. long, transversely rugulose. 



Indigenous and cultivated, near Penuelas at Tallaboa Alta; near Yauco, on declivi- 

 ties on the banks of the Duey River at Mount Rodadero; near Mayaguez; near Vega 

 Baja. Cuba (Richard), Jamaica (Bentham), Haiti, St. Thomas (Eggers), St.Croix 

 (do.), Guadeloupe. Central America, Ecuador, New Grenada, Surinam, San Domingo, 

 Jamaica, and perhaps Xorth Brazil. 



This differs from C. fistula, the only other species in Porto Rico belonging to the sub- 

 genus and section Fistula DC, in the rusty pubescence of its racemes, and in its much 

 smaller, multijugate leaflets. 



