LEGUMINQS^E. 89 



27. GYMNOCLADUS. Lam. Coffee Tree. 



(From the Greek yvpvos , naked, and *XaJoj, a branch ; in allusion to the naked 

 appearance of this tree in winter.) 



Flowers by abortion direcious. 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. Seeds 

 half an inch in diameter. Canadian Coffee Tree 



28. CASSIA. Linn. 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. Maryland-Lea 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. JuneAug. . Flowers 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. N. Y. to Flor. June, July. (1). 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. Chamacrisla Linn. : erect or decumbent ; leafets in 10 15 pairs, 

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

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

 hirsute. 



Sandy places. N. Y. to Car. W. to Miss. JuneAug. .Stem a foot or 

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

 of all the petals are spotted. Partridge Pea. 



