266 xlvii. § CiESALPiNiEvE (oliver). [Poinciana. 



dehiscing" longitudinally. Ovary sessile or narrowed below, oo -ovulate ; 

 style elongate, filiform ; stigma terminal ciliolate, but slightly dilated. 

 Legume 2-valved, compressed, coriaceous, several- or many-seeded. 

 Seeds compressed ellipsoidal or oblong" ; cotyledons plane, the width 

 of the larger diameter of the seed within a thin layer of albumen, cordate 

 at base embracing the short thick radicle. — Unarmed trees. Leaves 

 bipinnate ; leaflets small, numerous. Stipellae 0. Flowers handsome, 

 orange or scarlet, corymbose at the ends of the branches. 

 A small genus, confined to India, Madagascar, and Nile land. 



1. P. elata, Linn. ,- DC. Prod. ii. 484. Branches glabrous or the 

 herbaceous extremities puberulous. Pinnse usually in 4-6 pairs ; leaflets 

 10— 14-jugate, oblong or oblanceolate-oblong, obtuse or retuse, glabrous 

 or on first expansion silky-pubescent, veinless, subsessile, \— J in. long. 

 Flowers large in terminal corymbs or from the upper axils, pedicels 

 short, with the calyx puberulous or minutely silky, J-l \ in. long ; bracts 

 lanceolate or ovate-oblong, very early caducous. Calyx-lobes coria- 

 ceous oblong or oblanceolate, pointed or obtuse, deciduous. Petals rather 

 longer than the calyx, with a broadly obovate or rotundate-cuneate 

 crisped lamina narrowed into a distinct claw. Filaments much exceed- 

 ing the petals, 2-4 in. long, pilose below. Style elongate, filiform. 

 Young fruit in our specimens 4—7 in. long, f— 1 in. broad, linear-oblong 

 or narrowly oblanceolate below to the persistent calyx-tube, straight or 

 sinuous, narrowed above to the persistent style-base. Seeds much com- 

 pressed elliptic-oblong, smooth. Ccesalpinia elata, Sw. Obs. 166. 



Nile Land. Abyssinia, Roth ! Nubia {Schweinf. et AscJi. Enum.). 



An infusion of the seeds, Dr. Koth states, is used as a purgative. The same plant 

 extends eastward through Arabia into India. 



The showy and nearly allied P. regia, Boj. (Bot. Mag. 2884), a native of Madagascar, 

 is frequently planted in towns and villages on the eastern coast and in Angola. The 

 leaves are 1-2 feet long, with 8-20 pairs of multifoliolate pinnae. Petals 2-3 times 

 longer than the calyx-lobes with an orbicular lamina and long claw. Stamens rela- 

 tively shorter than in P. elata, shorter than or nearly equalling the petals. Legume 

 about 4 in. long according to the original description, 6-8 in. Dr. Kirk, while speci- 

 mens in the Rew Museum are about 2 ft. in length. 



8. PARKINSONIA, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant, i. 570. 



Calyx divided nearly to the base into 5 subequal membranous slightly 

 imbricate segments. Petals 5, spreading. Stamens 10, free, scarcely 

 declinate ; filaments pilose at base ; anthers uniform, elliptical, dehis- 

 cing longitudinally. Ovary narrowed to the base, 8-15-ovulate ; style 

 subfiliform, recurved in bud ; stigma terminal, minute. Legume narrow- 

 linear narrowed to each end, usually constricted between the subdistant 

 longitudinally-disposed seeds, thinly coriaceous, longitudinally reticu- 

 late-striate, scarcely or not at all dehiscent. Seeds 1—6 or 8 oblong 

 or subcylindrical, albuminous. — Shrub or small tree. Leaves 2-pinnate ; 

 pinnae 2-4, with the rachis much elongate, flattened, bearing nume- 

 rous small oblong or linear opposite or scattered leaflets which are 

 occasionally abortive; common petiole very short or obsolete, spine- 



