Cassia.] xlvii. § CjESALPInieje (oliver). 277 



long, from the axils of the uppermost leaves, solitary or from 2 or 3 to 

 6 or 8 collected about the ends of the branches, equalling or overtop- 

 ping" the leaves. Pedicels J-J in. Flowers at first closely packed 

 with elliptical or ovate imbricating' caducous bracts J in. long- more or 

 less. Sepals nearly equal in length, the posterior broader, obtuse. 

 Petals obtuse, strongly veined, very shortly clawed. Two of the 

 anterior anthers much enlarged, curved, 5-6 lines long. Legume 

 2-valved, flat, linear-oblong, slightly sinuous in our specimens, nar- 

 rowed below into a stipes of \- J in., and above to. the persistent base of 

 the style ; 3-4 in. long, f in. broad. Valves thinly coriaceous, trans- 

 versely depressed between the (9-16) seeds when dry. Seeds hori- 

 zontal, obovate-oblong, with a narrow linear areole on each face, com- 

 pressed in the same plane as the valves ; cotyledons enclosed between 

 moderate layers of albumen, in transverse section of the seed extending 

 from end to end, slightly sinuous or plane. — C. bracteosa, Welw. mss. 



Nile Land. Madi, Speke and Grant! Abyssinia, ffiippell. 



Lower Guinea. Golungo Alto, Angola, Dr. Welwitsch! 



Mozamb. Distr. Manganya hills, Dr. Metier! 



C. didymobotrya nearly resembles C. venusta, F. Muell. of North Australia. 

 Schweinfurth and Ascherson, in Flor. iEthiop. 255, cite Cassia glauca, Lam., an 

 Indian tree, as occurring in Sennaar. The leaflets are in 4-6 pairs, glaucous and 

 puberulous or glabrate underneath, oval or elliptical obtuse or scarcely acute; glands 

 interpetiolular ; stipules linear, falcate. Flowers in corymbose racemes from the upper 

 axils. Legume flat, broadly linear, 4-54 la - l° n g> 6-8 lines broad. 



I have not seen African specimens. 



16. C. obovata, Collad. Hist. Cass. 92, t. 15 A. Herbaceous, erect 

 or ascending from a woody perennial stock 1-2 or even 3-4 ft. high, 

 glaucous, wholly glabrous or the young extremities finely pruinose- 

 puberulous. Stem pale green, terete or obtusely angular. Leaves 

 2-5 in. long ; leaflets in 3-7 pairs, obovate to oblanceolate-oblong or 

 obovate-elliptical, apex broadly rounded mucronulate, subcoriaceous, 

 subsessile, J — 1-J in. long ; interpetiolular glands rudimentary or 0. 

 Stipules obliquely lanceolate acuminate, spreading or decurved, persis- 

 tent, \-\ in. long. Racemes erect, axillary, at length usually over- 

 topping the leaves, rather laxly many-flowered. Pedicels \ in. Bracts 

 rotundate-ovate apiculate \ in. long ; caducous. Sepals rather unequal, 

 very obtuse. Two of the anterior anthers considerably larger. Ovary 

 appressed-tomentose. Legume flat oblong-reniform, broadly rounded 

 at the extremity and obliquely tipped with the remains of the slender 

 style; 1^-2^ in. long, 7-10 lines broad; valves thinly coriaceous, gla- 

 brous or pulverulent, transversely marked with scarcely prominent 

 anastomosing veins, and longitudinally over the seeds with a single 

 series of rounded crest-like plaits. Seeds compressed obovate retuse ; 

 cotyledons plane, from end to end of the larger diameter of the seed. 

 — For synonymy see Batka, Monog. Senna, 46, where is also a good 

 figure (t. iii.) 



Upper Guinea. Senegambia, Perrottet! Niger Expedition, Barter! 

 North Central. Kouka, E. Vogell 



