ierpent r: ort us ja:-,iaice:;sis. . i69 



This is an oprij+ht tree, twenty foot in height, with horizontal branches. Spines 



awi-.-i uminate, strong, sub-axillary, five-lined ; leaves , withthecom- 



... les two inches long, and a small oblong, blunt, upright, gland, a little above 



:e ; partial pinnas an inch long ; leaflets oblong, blunt, scarcely three lines in 



length; spikes globular, . i ry, solitary, turned upw na peduncle an inch in 



.. ; flowers white, void of scent. Native of Jamaica and other West-India islands ; 



[ueht in the island of Mango. Jacquin. 



7. ASPERATA. ROUGH, 



Frutesvens, spinvsa et acuclata ; siliquis h'irsuth, Browne, p. 257, 

 M. il. 



Prickl)', rough-haired, leaves bi-pinnate, with opposite prickles, spine erect 

 bet\ q :'h of the partial ones. 



This has a shrubby erect stalk about five feet !. ry, and armed with short, 



broad, strong, thorns, which are white, standing on each side, almost opposite or al- 

 ternate. Leaves five or si-; paired, with a strong mi I Y md i . :en each pai 

 short strong spines, pointing out each u its extremely narrow and very close. 



Towards the' upper part of the stalk the flowers are produced from the sides, on short 

 i h les; they are coll it6 globular heads, and are of a bright purple colour; 



the stalks are also terminated by smaller heads of the like dowers. Pods flat, joi 

 about two inches long an I a. quarter of an inch broad, spreading like rays, there being 

 commonly five or six joined together at the base; they separate at each articulation, 

 ing the two side mei or borders standing. Theseeds, which are compressed 



and square, drop out from the joints of the pods, which are hairy at first; but as they 

 ripen become smooth. The petioles do not fall on being touched, but the leaflets close 

 up. Linneus remarks that the whole plant is rough-haired, except the pinnas ; the 

 it -Lives often fourteen paired, with many paired leaflets ; an upright awl-shaped spine 

 between each pair of partial leaves ; and two stout recurved solitary opposite shorten 

 rickles between each pair ol partial ones. Legume compressed, with stifHsh pale red 

 lairs. Browne calls it the thorned sensitive from Panama, which he sa\s was intro- 

 duced from the main continent. He describes it -as follows-: " It is a shrubby plant, 

 and rises commonly to the height of seven or eight feet, but the smaller branches and. 

 ribs are full of short recufved-thorns ; and eSch rib again emits a number of long and 

 slender prickles, from the interspaces of its foliations, or smallest ribs. The branches 

 of this shrub are moderately thick, but the leaves are small, and very apt to move on 

 every occasion. The pods are compressed and hairy*, and when ripe divide into as many 

 parts as there are seeds, which fall off separately ; these parts are held, in the natural 

 state, between two ribs that run along- the margins of the pod, in the inner grooves of 

 which they move with great ease, when contracted and detached from each other". 



ee Cacoon, Cashaw, Gum-arabic, Ikga-tree, Nephritic-tree, and Wild 



Tamarind. 



-Sensitive, Bastard. See Bastard Sensitive. 



I 



SERPENT-ROOT OPHIORHIZA. 



Cl. 5, or. 1. Pentandria monozynia. Nat. or. Stellate. 



Vol. II. Y Tfiis 



