GLEDiTscniA. XLVII. LEGUMINOS^. 237 



scattered hairs. Petioles channeled above, and distinguished by the pedicelled 

 gland near the base. Lcancts 1—2' by 4—0". Racemes in the upper axils, 

 forming a leafy panicle. Petals bright-yellow, 3 erect and 2 declined. In medi- 

 cine it is a mild cutliartic. Aug. 



2. C. CuAMAX'iusTA. Sf/isii'ivc Pen. Dwarf Cf/ssia. 



St. erect or decumbent; Ifh. 8 — 12 pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, mucnmate; 

 gland on the petiole subscssife; fascicles oj {lovers supra-axillary, subsessile; 

 anthers 10, all fertile.— An elegant plant, m dry soil, Mass. Mid. W. and S. 

 States. Stem i— 2f high, round, pubescent. Leaflets crowded, -l— 8" by 1— 2j", 

 smooth, subsessile. Flowers large, 2, 3 or 4 in each fascicle. Bracts lance- 

 subulate, as are al.'io the stipules, persistent. Petals bright yellow, the 2 upper 

 ones with a purple spot. Aug, — The leaves possess considerable irritability. 



3. C. NicTiTANs. Wild Sensitive Plant. 



St. erect or procumbent ; Ifts. G — 15 pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, mucro- 

 nate, sessile; gland on the -petiole slightly pedicellate; jis. small, 2 or 3 in each 

 supra-axillary, subsessile fascicle; da. 5, subcqual. — In dry sandy soils, Mass. 

 to La. Stem about If long, slender, a lillle branching. Leaflets crowded, 4 — 

 6" by 1 — 2", common petiole 1 — 2' long, with the gland a line or two below the 

 -owest pair of leaflets. Flowers very small, pale yellow, on short pedicels. Jl. 

 —The leaves are quite sensitive, closing by night and when touched. 



36. G Y M N O C L A D U S. Lam. 



Gr. yvfxvoif naked, K^aSos, a shoot; for its coarse, naked shoots in winter- 



Flowers 9 c^- d Calyx tubular. 5-cleft, equal ; petals 5, inserted 

 into the summit of the tube; stamens 10, distinct. 9 Calyx and 

 corolla as above ; style 1 ; legumes I -celled, oblong, very large, pulpy 

 within. — A slender^ unarmed tree, with U7icqually biyinnate Ivs. Lfts. 

 ovate.) acuminate. 



G. Canadensis. Lam. Cofce Tree. 



Grows in Western N. Y., Ohio, la. ! &c., on the borders of lakes and riv- 

 ers. Height 50f, with a trunk 15' diam., straight and simple to the height of 

 25f, covered with a rough, scaly bark, and supporting a rather small, but regu- 

 lar head. The compound leaves are 2 — 3f long, and 15 — 20' wide, being doubly 

 compounded of a great number of dull green leaflets. Single leaflets otten oc- 

 cupy the place of some of the pinnce. Flowers large and white, succeeded by 

 large, curving pods containing several hard, gray seeds. The wood is reddish, fine- 

 grained and strong, and is valuable in architecture, and cabinet-work. May — Jl. 



37. GLEDITSCHIA, 



In honor of John G. Gleditsch, a botanical writer, Leipzig, about 1750. 



Flowers 9 $ c?^. Sepals equal, 3 — 5, united at base ; petals 3 — 5 ; 

 stamens 3 — 5, distinct, opposite the sepals, sometimes by abortion 

 fewer or ; style short ; legume continuous, compressed, often inter- 

 cepted between the seeds by a quantity of sweet pulp. — Trees^ with 

 swpra-axillary., branched spines. Lvs. abruptly piimate and bipinnate 

 often in the same specimen. 



G. TRi ACANTHUS. Honcij Lociist. 



Branches armed with stout, triple spines ; lfts. alternate, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, obtuse; leg. linear-oblong, compressed, intervals filled with sweet pulp. — 

 This fine tree, native from Penn. to Mo. and La., is becoming common in cul- 

 tivation. In favorable circumstances it attains the height of 70f, undivided half 

 its length, with a diameter of 3 — 'If. The thorns with which its branches are 

 armed in' a most formidable manner, are 2—3' long, ligneous, often having 2 

 sccondarv ones branching from the sides. Foliage light and elegant. Leaflets 

 about 18| 1— U'long, | as wide, 1, 2 or 3 of them frequently translormed, either 

 partly or wholly, into smaller leaflets {^ 240, 6). Flowers small, white, suc- 

 ceeded by flat, crooked, hanging pods 12 — 18' long, of a dull red. Seeds flat, 

 hard, brown, imbedded in a fleshy substance, at first" sweet but becomes sour. Jn, 



