THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 115 



nunKT(iu> a> U> '^'wc in tli^- wimlc tree their ruddy hue. The 

 Haii/iuiuis, sturdy cHniher> or small trees, reni.'U'kahle tor 

 tJHMr two-lohed lea\ es (whence named tor the two brothers 

 liauhin). .<j^i\e preference to j)ink and red rather than to yel- 

 low. In the v^t. Thomas tree the petals of the showy flowers 

 have crimson sjxit^ on a ])aler i^round. ha\ ini;' been sprinkled, 

 accordim;' to the tradition, witli (he blood of the niart\red 

 ^aint. 



\'ery conspicuous throughout the summer months is the 

 tree known in llonolulu as the golden shower; more i)ro- 

 saically as the jjudding-stick tree'; to pharmacists familiar, as 

 jnirging Cassia. (Catliatocarj-'us fistula ). The foliage is 

 Comparatively scanty, consisting of pinnate leaves with large 

 entire leaflets. The c}lindrical, deep brown pods, fifteen 

 inches or more in length and three-cpiarters inch in diameter, 

 are rather ornamental than otherwise as thev swa\- with 

 every breeze. In spring the buds appear in drooping pani- 

 cles, and then for four months there is a continuous succes- 

 sion of the pure primrose-yellow fragrant blossoms that 

 justify the popular name of the tree. The petals, wliich are 

 of such a delicate bright color, are reallv coarse in texture, 

 and this explains wliy they last as they do ten days or a 

 fortnight without noticeable change. 



Another species of the same, or a closel\- allied genus, 

 has foliage resembling that of our locust tree, i)ut with a 

 ])eculiar graceful droop to its massixe frond-like spravs ; has 

 pod> that are similar, but longer, more slender, and slightly 

 Cf»nstricted at regular intervals of about a centimeter. Inter- 

 nally their structive is (|uite differnt; in the purging cassia the 

 pod has transverse diaphragms separating the seeds, which 

 are imbedded in pulp. In this species each seed is enclosed 

 in a tin\- box of woody texture, \et with waljs not thicker 

 than l)rist(»l-board. These little cells, in size and shape much 



