104 FLORA OF JAMAICA Cassia 



5. C. speetabilis DC. Cat. Hort. Monsp. 90 (1813); leaflets, 

 4-15 paii's, ovate-elliptical to oblong-elliptical, acute or sub- 

 acuminate, 3—7 • 5 cm. 1. ; glands wanting. — Collad. Hist. Cass. 

 115, t. 7; Griseb. op. cit. 208; Benth. in Trans. Linn. Soc. xxvii. 

 529. C. Humboldtiana DC. Prodr. ii. 489 (1825). 0. Trinitatis 

 Beichenh. ex DC. Prodr. ii. 489 (1825). 



March 1 gardens, Manderville, Harris d Britton ! Fl. Jam. 10,616. — 

 Trinidad, Central America, northern S. America. 



Tree ; twigs, inflorescence, and under surface of leaves softly hairy. 

 Panicle large, terminal, corymbose, with yellow flowers. Sepals 5-7 

 mm. 1. Petals l"5-2-5 cm. 1., 3 upper obovate-elliptical, spreading, 2 lower 

 curved over the centre of the flower, one elliptical, the other falcately 

 oblong. Ovary curved, glabrous. Pod shortly stalked, cylindrical, 

 irregularly constricted between the seeds, to 2 5 dm. 1., about 1 cm. br. 

 We doubt whether this species can be considered indigenous. 



6. C. oceidentalis L. Sp. PI. 377 (1753); leaflets, 4-6 pairs, 

 ovate-elliptical, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, acute or shortly 

 acuminate, oblique at base, 2-7(-9) cm. 1. (the lower even as 

 small as 1 cm. 1.), glabrous, but margin ciliolulate ; gland at 

 the base of the petiole, tuberculate ; racemes in the upper axils, 

 shortly stalked, with a few bright orange-yellow flowers close 

 together, the uppermost racemes forming a short panicle. — 

 Collad. Hist. Cass. 107; Descourt. Fl. Ant. ii. t. 135; Mac/. Jam. 

 i. 344 ; Griseb. loc. cit. ; Benth. in Trans. Linn. Soc. xxvii. 532, 

 C falcata L. loc. cit. C. frutescens Mill. Gard. Diet. ed. 8 (1768). 

 C. herbacea major erecta &c. Browne Hist. Jam. 224. Senna 

 oceidentalis odore &c. Sloane Cat. 148 & Hist. ii. 48, /. 175,/. 3, 4 

 (in part). Senna spuria oceidentalis &c. Commel. Amst. 51, t. 26. 

 Specimen from Hort. Clifi". in Herb. Mus. Brit. ; and one from 

 Browne in Herb. Linn, named by Linnseus. 



Stinking Weed, Wild Coffee. 



Sloane Herb. vi. 30! Tate, Pasmore in Herb. Sloane clxii. 2611 

 Houstoun ! Browne ! Wright I waste places, Broughton ! Macfadyen I Green- 

 wich, McNab I King's House grounds, J. P. 610, Harris ! Gordon Town, 

 Ball] also Fawcettl Arcadia, Mrs. Sewelll Temple Hall, 700 ft., Thomp- 

 son ! Porus, Lloyd ; Manchioneal ; Spanish Town ; Harris I Fl. Jam. 

 5999, 6786, 7993. — Tropics, " probably of American origin " (Bentham). 



Herb or undershrub, 3-5 ft. high, stinking. Stipules broadly triangular, 

 oblique at base, apex a long acute point, glabrous, very soon dropping off, 

 7-8 mm. 1. Sepals green or slightly coloured, veined, 6-10 mm. 1. Petals 

 (white when dry) veined, 10-14 mm. 1. Stamens 6 perfect ; 3 staminodes 

 with broad blade. Ovary villose. Pod slightly curved, 5*5-12 cm. 1., 

 6-8 mm. br., at first flat with thickened margins, when ripe thick-com- 

 pressed with broad margins, glabrous. Seeds " at least in the lower part 

 of the pod, become more or less flattened and parallel with the transverse 

 partitions ; in the upper part they are sometimes flattened parallel with 

 the valves " (Bentham). 



The root is diuretic. A decoction of the leaves, taken internally and 

 applied externally, is used as a cure for itch and other cutaneous diseases, 

 also of mange. The seeds are used to destroy ringworm ; and, roasted, 

 they are considered to be a substitute for coffee, although analysis has 

 failed to discover cafiein or other alkaloid in them. 



