68 DIALYPETALOUS EXOGENS 



Hob. Banks of the Schuylkill : not common. Fl. April. Fr. June. 



Obs. This little tree is admired, in early spring, for its clusters 

 of small flowers, which clothe the branches in purple before the 

 leaves appear. The limbs are very liable to split oif, and disfigure 

 the tree, otherwise it would well deserve a place in all groups of 

 ornamental shrubbery. 



SUBORDER II. CAESALPIN'EAE. 



Leaves pinnate, or often bipinnate ; flowers not papilionaceous, often imperfect ; 

 stamens distinct; embryo straight. 



TRIBE 6. CASSIE V AE. 



Corolla often irregular; stamens 10, or fewer, anthers sometimes imperfect. 

 legume continuous, 1-celled, or sometimes intercepted between the seeds. 



107. CASSIA, L. 



[An ancient name, of obscure derivation.] 



Flowers perfect: Sepals 5, scarcely connected. Petals 5, unequal. 

 Stamens mostly 10, some of them often imperfect ; anthers opening 

 at apex. Herbs : leaves even-pinnate, with a gland near the base of 

 the petiole. 



f PERENNIAL: lower anthers fert He, the 3 upper ones deformed and sterile; petiolar 

 gland obovoid. 



1. C. Marilandica, L. Stem erect; leaflets 6 to 9 pairs, 

 ovate-oblong ; racemes axillary, the upper ones somewhat panicu- 

 late ; legumes finally smooth. 



MARYLAND CASSIA. Wild Senna. 



Stem 3 or 4 feet high, rather stout, branching. Leaflets 1 to 2 inches long, peti- 

 olulate ; common petioles 1 to 2 inches in length below the leaflets, with an obovoid 

 gubsessile gland on the upper side. Racemes pedunculate, those in the upper axils 

 forming a sort of terminal leafy panicle; flowers yellow, often becoming a dead 

 white. Legumes 3 or 4 inches long, villous when young, compressed, somewhat 

 curved, often sinuate on the edges from partial contractions ; seeds ovate-oblong, 

 separated by a kind of transverse partitions. 

 Hob. Low grounds ; along streams : frequent. Fl. Aug. Fr. Octo. 



06s. The leav es of this rather showy species afford, it is said, a 

 tolerable substitute for the Senna of the shops, which is another 

 species of the same genus. Doctor DARWIN, in his Botanic Gar- 

 den, probably refers to this one, as follows: 



"Where vast Ontario rolls his brineless tides, 



And feeds the trackless forests on his sides, 



Fair CASSIA, trembling, hears the howling woods, 



And trusts her tawny children to the floods. 



Tinctured with gold, while ten fond brothers stand, 



And guard the beauty on her native land ; 



Soft breathes the gale, the current gently moves. 



And bears to Norway's coasts her infant loves." 



"This," he adds, "is one of the American fruits which are annually thrown on 

 the coasts of Norway ; and are frequently in so recent a state as to vegetate, when 

 properly taken care of." 



f f ANNUAL: anthers aU fertile; petiolar gland cup-shaped. 



2. C. Chamaecrista, L. Stems rather leaning, or spreading; 

 leaflets 8 to 12 or 15 pairs, linear-oblong; flowers rather large; 

 stamens 10, unequal. 



