CASSIACEAE. 83 



globose or cjlimliio. Calyx-lobes shorter than the tube. Petals distinct or 

 partially united. Filaments distinct or nearly so. Ovary short-stipitate. Pod 

 oblique. 



1. N. floridana Small. Stem and branches sparingly pubescent or glabrate: 

 leaflets 3-4 mm. long; blades linear to linear-lanceolate: calyx-lobes triangu- 

 lar-lanceolate, acuminate: petals acuminate: pods 2.5-3.5 cm. long. — Pine- 

 lands.— F. K. (Cuba.) 



Family 4. CASSIACEAE. Senna Family. 



Trees, shi-ubs, or herbs. Leaves alternate: blades compound, usually 

 1-2-pinnate, rarely 1-foIiolate. Flowers perfect, polygamous, monoecious, 

 or dioecious, more or less irregular. Calyx of 3-5, usually slightly united 

 sepals, sometimes borne on the edge of a well-developed hypanthium. 

 Corolla of 3-5 unequal distinct petals. Androecium of 6-10 distinct or 

 nearly distinct stamens. Gynoecium l-carpellaiy. Fruit a legume. 



Sepals, and petals, usually 5: stamens 5-10. 

 Leaves with 1-pinnate blades. 



Pods indehiscent or tardily dehiscent : corolla nearly regular, the five petals 



slightly unequal : calyx-lobes obtuse. 1. Cassia. 



Pods elastically dehiscent : corolla very irregular, one of 

 the lateral petals (standard) and the lowest petal large, 

 the others greatly reduced : calyx-lobes acuminate. 2. Chamaecrista. 



Leaves with 2-pinnate blades. 



Pods long, smooth : petals with suborbicular or reniform 



blades. o. Poinciana. 



Pods short, priokle-armed : petals with cuneate or spatu- 



late blades. 4. Guilandina. 



Sepals 4 : petals 3, often accompanied by 2 rudiments : stamens 3. 5. Tamaeindds. 



1. CASSIA [Tourn.] L. Herbs, shrubs, or trees. Leaves abruptly 1-pin- 

 nate: stipules deciduous. Flowers in axillary racemes or panicles. Sepals 

 nearly distinct, leathery or jjetaloid. Petals mainly yellow or whitish. Pod 

 more or less turgid, indehiscent or tardily dehiscent. — Sexxa. 



Plants herbaceous. 



Petiolar gland near the base of the rachis : blades of the leaflets not obovate. 



Petiolar gland globular, sessile : pods broad-margined. 1. C. occidentalis. 



Petiolar gland elongate, stipitate : pods narrow-margined. 2. C. ligustrina. 

 Petiolar gland between the lower pair of leaflets : blades of 



the leaflets obovate or cuneate. 3. C. Tora. 



Plants woody. 4. O. bahamensis. 



1. C. occidentalis L. Plant annual, 5-15 dm. tall, nearly glabrous: leaflets 

 8-12 ; blades lanceolate, becoming lanceolate-elliptic, somewhat acuminate, 

 3.6-5 cm. long; petiolar gland globular, near the base of the rachis: stipules 

 broadly lanceolate: sepals 11-14 mm. long: petals 15-19 mm. long: pods 

 linear, glabrous, with the septa externally prominent, 8-13 cm. long, 6 mm. 

 wide. — Pinelands and cultivated grounds. Xat. of Trop. Am. — F, K. (Ber., 

 Bah., Cuba, Ant.) 



2. C. ligustrina L. Plant perennial, 6-20 dm. tall, nearly glabrous: leaflets 

 12-10; blades lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, 4-4.2 cm. long; petiolar gland 

 at the base of rachis, elongate, stipitate: stipides linear-lanceolate: sepals 9-12 

 mm. long, the larger ones obovate: petals 13-16 mm. long, nearly uniform in 

 shape: pods curved, flat, prominently margined, 7-8 mm. wide. — Hammocks. — • 

 (Ber., Bah., Cuba, Ant.) 



3. C. Tora L. Plant annual, 4-15 dm. tall, nearly glabrous: leaflets 4-6; 

 blades obovate or cuneate-obovate, very slightly cuspidate, the terminal pair 

 much the largest, 3-5 cm. long: petiolar gland elongate, between the lower 

 pairs of leaflets: stipules linear-spatulate to setaceous: sepals 7-9 mm. long, 



