LEGUMINOS^. 89 



27. GYMNOCLADUS. Lam.— Coffee Tree. 



(.From the Greek yv^i/o? , naked, and K'XaSoi, a branch ; in allusion to the naked 

 appearance of this tree in winter.) 



Flowers by abortion dioecious. Calyx tubular, 5-cleft. Pe- 

 tals 5, equal, oblong, exserted from the tube. Stamens 10, in- 

 cluded. Legume oblong, very large and thick, pulpy inside. 



G. Canadensis Mich. 



Can. N. Y. W. to Ark. May, June.— A middle-sized tree with few branches. 

 Leaves very large, (1 — 3 feet long,) bipinnate ; leafets oval, acuminate, slightly 

 pubescent. Flowers white, in racemes. Legume large, dark-brown. Seed9 

 half an inch in diameter. Canadian Coffee Tree 



28. CASSIA. />m%.— Cassia. 

 (Said to have been derived from a Hebrew term Latinized by Cassia.) 



Sepals 5, scarcely united at base, somewhat unequal. Pe- 

 tals 5, unequal. Stamens 10, free, unequal ; 3 lower ones 

 longer ; 4 middle ones short and straight ; 3 upper ones usually 

 abortive. Anthers opening at the apex. Legume terete or 

 compressed, many-seeded. 



1 . C. Marylandica Linn. : stem erect ; leafets in 6—9 pairs, ovate-oblong, 

 mucronate, equal ; gland at the base of the petiole ovate ; racemes axillary, 

 many-flowered, shorter than the leaves ; legume compressed, linear, hispid, 

 at length smooth. 



Banks of streams. N. Eng. and N. Y. to Car. W. to Miss. July, Aug. %. 

 — Stem 3 — 4 feet high, smooth or somewhat pubescent. Flowers yellow, large, 

 in axillary racemes which appear paniculate at the summit of the stem. Me- 

 dicinal ; a tolerable substitute for the senna of the shops. Big. Med. Bot. i. 166. 



Wild Senna. 



2. C. fasciculata Mich. : nearly smooth ; leafets in 8 or 9 pairs, oblong- 

 linear, mucronate ; gland near the middle of the petiole sessile ; fascicles 

 lateral, many-flowered ; petals and stamens of the same color ; legume 

 smooth, curved, ascending. 



Dry fields. N. Y. to Car. June— Aug. Q.—Fhwers yellow. A doubtful 

 species. Fascicled Cassia. 



3. C. nictitans Linn. : stem erect or decumbent, branched ; leafets in 

 10 — 20 pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, mucronate ; gland on the petiole cup- 

 shaped, on a slender foot-stalk ; racemes lateral, above the axils of the 

 leaves, short, few-flowered ; stamens 5 ; legume pubescent. 



Sandy banks of streams. cN. Y. to Flor. June, July. (^.—Stem a foot high. 

 Flowers small, yellow, 2 — 3 in a raceme. The leaves are somewhat irritable, 

 like the Mimosa or sensitive plant. Wild Sensitive Plant. 



4. C. Chamacrista Linn. : erect or decumbent; leafets in 10 — 15 pairs, 

 linear-oblong, oblique at base, obtuse, mucronate : gland on the petiole cup- 

 shaped ; fliscicles of flowers above the axils of the leaves ; legume sparingly 

 hirsute. 



Sandy places. N. Y. to Car. W. to Miss. June — Aug. 0. — Stem a foot or 

 more high. Flowers yellow, larger than in the preceding ; sometimes the base 

 of all the petals are spotted. Partridge Pea. 



