Cercis. LEGUMINOSyE. 391 



on rather long claws, somewhat papilionaceous : vcxilluin lar<;e, roundisli, 

 entire, scarcely longer than the wing3, reflexed-spreading : wings oblong, 

 straight, very obtuse, somewhat biauriculatc at the base : kecl-pctals iis long 

 as the wings, distinct, broadly oblong, nearly straiglit, very obtuse, siibcord- 

 ate or slightly biauriculatc at the base. Stamens distinct : filaments filiform, 

 incurved near the sumnut, glabrous. Ovary stijjitale, linear, pubescent, 

 many-ovuled : style glabrous, subulate, incurved : stigma minute. Legume 

 on a short stipe, linear, much comjjressed, membranaceous, the sutures not 

 margined, tardily dehiscent, 4-6-seedcd. Seeds oblong, comi)rcssc.'d, scarce- 

 ly strophiolate. Cotyledons oblong, flat : radicle very short, somewhat in- 

 flexed. — A small tree (the wood yellow). Leaves pinnately 7-11-foliolate ; 

 the leaflets usually alternate : petioles dilated at the base and including the 

 buds of the succeeding year. Stipules none. Inflorescence terminal : ra- 

 cemes mostly paniculate below ; the lateral ones arising from the axil of a 

 solitary flower ; tlic terminal one elongated : bracts minute, very caducous : 

 pedicels filiform, ebracteolato. Flowers large, white. 



An interesting genus, wholly distinct liotli from Virgilia (V. Capensis) and Cal- 

 piirnia, E. Mcy. (V. aurca, Lam. t^c.) The calyx of V. Capensis, \vc mny here 

 remark, seems to us very incorrectly described as " ina-qualiter dentatus Eubbilabia. 

 tus" : in all the specimens wo have examined it is rather deeply bilabiate ; with 

 the upper Up more or less y.clefi. and the lower entire and acute. 



C. tindoria (Raf. ! 1. c.)— VirgUia lulea, Michx.f. syli'. 2. p. 18, t. 78 ; 

 Pursh,fl. 1. p. 309; DC. I. c. 



Hill-sides, in deep fertile soil. West Tennessee, F. A. Michaux ! Dr. 

 Currey ! Kentucky River, Dr. Short! April-May.— Tree 20-40 feet liigh, 

 sometimes nearly one foot in diameter, with a smooth greenish bark : tlie 

 heart-wood yellow, and readily imparting its color to water. Leaves and 

 branches nearly glabrous : leaflets jietiolulate, broadly oval, (he terminal one 

 rhomboid-ovate, acuminate, 3-4 inches in length. Flowers somewhat re- 

 sembling those of the Common Locust; tlie thyrsoid racemes G-10 inches 

 long, nodding or pendulous. Legumes 3-4 inches long and about i of an 

 inch in width, flat, even, tlie margin often somewhat undulate by the abor- 

 tion of a portion of the seeds. — Pursh and Nuttall, being misled by the 

 specific name of Michaux, state the flowers to be yellow, and the error is 

 copied by De Candolle, although the flowers are represented of their proper 

 color in Michaux's Sylva. — Yelloic-wood . 



53. CERCIS. Linn. ; Lam. ill. t. 328 ,• Gcertn.fr. t. 144. 



Calyx broadly campanulate, 5-toothed, broadly obconic and somewhat 

 oblique at the base. Petals scarcely papilionaceous, all distinct : vexilluni 

 smaller than the wings : keel-petals broadly oval, larger than the wings, 

 overlapping each other at the back. Stamens somewhat unequal. Leguijje 

 oblong, acute at each end, slightly stipitate, coriaceo-membranaceous, much 

 compressed, many-seeded ; the upper suture with a winged margin. Seeds 

 obovate, compressed ; the inner coat thickened. Embryo straight : cotyle- 

 dons flat. — Trees, with simple cordate leaves, and membranaceous caducous 



