428 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



2. Conzattia sericea Standi., sp. nov. 



Type from Rfo de Tamazula, Imala, Municipalidad der CuliacSn, Sinaloa, 

 altitude SO meters {J. G. Ortvva 4169; U. S. Nat Herb. no. 1,081,254). 



Tree, 10 to 15 meters high, the trunk 50 to 75 cm. in diiimeter, the young 

 branchlets at first puberulent but soon glabrate; leaves long-petiolate, the 

 pinnae few, the leaflets about 9 pairs, oblong, 10 to 12 mm. long, obtuse and 

 apiculate, sericeous on both surfaces, more densely so beneath; racemes 8 to 

 25 cm. long, glabrous, the pedicels 6 to 9 nun. long; sepals 5 mm. long, very 

 obtuse ; petals bright yellow, 7mm. long. " Navfo." 



The pinnae and leaflets are less numerous than in C. multiflora. 



13. PARKINSONIA L. Sp. PI. 375. 1753. 

 Trees or shrubs, armed with spines; leaves pinnate, the leaflets numerous, 

 small ; flowers showy, yellow, in axillary racemes ; fruit linear, nearly terete, 

 constricted between the seeds. 



llachis of the leaves lo«ig, flat, winged ; leaflets 20 to 30 pairs 1. P. aculeata. 



Kachis of the leaves short, not winged ; leaflets 4 to 6 pairs_2. P. microphylla. 



1. Parkinsonia aculeata L. Sp. PI. 375. 1753. 



Common nearly throughout Mexico ; often planted. Widely distributed in 

 tropical America ; western Texas, 



Slender graceful shrub or tree, sometimes 12 meters high, the trunk 30 cm. 

 or less in diameter; branches yellowish green, the bark brown in age, smooth; 

 leaf rachis 20 to 40 cm. long, the leaflets 3 to 8 mm. long, pale green, deciduous, 

 leaving the persi-stent naked rachis; flowers pale yellow, fragrant; pods 5 

 to 10 cm. long ; wood hard, close-grained, light brown with yellowish sapwood, 

 the specific gravity about 0.61. " Retama " (Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Sina- 

 loa, Texas, Costa Rica, Colombia); "retama de cerda " (Tamaulipas); 

 "guacoporo" (Sonora, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato); " junco " (Guanajuato, San 

 Luis PotosI) ; " palo verde " (Oaxaca, Tamaulipas); " mezquite extranjero " 

 (Durango) ; " guichi-belle " (Oaxaca, Zapotec, licko) ; "acacia de agiiijote," 

 " espino real de Espafia " (Nicaragua); " calentano," " yabo " (Colombia)* 

 " flor de rayo," "palo de rayo " (Porto Rico); "junco marino," " espinillo " 

 (Cuba) ; "espinillo de Espafia " (Venezuela) ; " cambron " (Santo Domingo). 



The foliage and young branches are eaten by stock. The wood is used for 

 fuel, and has been employed for making paper. The infusion of the leaves is 

 employed locally as a febrifuge and sudorific, a remedy for epilepsy, and an 

 abortefacient. 



2. Parkinsonia microphylla Torr. U. S. Rept. L]xpl. Miss. Pacif. 4: 82. 1857. 

 Dry plains and hillsides, Sonora and Baja California. Southern California 



(type locality) and Arizona. 



Spiny shrub or tree, 1 to 7.5 meters high, the trunk 30 cm. or less in di- 

 ameter ; bark smooth, yellowish green ; leaflets 2 to 4 mm. long, pubescent ; 

 flowers pale yellow ; fruit 5 to 8 cm. long ; wood hard, close-grained, dark yel- 

 lowish brown with yellow sapwood, with a specific gravity of about 0.74. 

 "Retama," " lebon " (Baja California); "palo verde" (Sonora, California). 



By the Pima Indians of Arizona the pods were eaten, either as gathered or 

 after having been ground in a mortar. The coarse meal thus obtained wns 

 sometimes mixed with that of mesquite pods. The wood was used for making; 

 small articles, such as ladles. 



14. CERCIDIUM Tulasne, Arch. Mus. Paris 4: 133. 1844. 

 Trees or shrubs, armed with axillary spines; leaves bipinnate, the leaflets 

 few, small; flowers showy, yellow, few, in axillary racemes; fruit flat or 

 swollen, finally dehiscent. 



