110 FLORA OF JAMAICA Cassia 



"The juice of the leaves and buds has been employed in the cure 

 of ringworm, and other cutaneous diseases. The infusion has been 

 used, as a tepid bath, in similar cases. The flowers and young leaves, 

 beat into a pulp, make an excellent poultice for the superficial sores which 

 follow some varieties of impetigo and rupia " (Macfadyen). 



[C. obovata Goliad. Hist. Cass. 92, t. 15a (1816); leaflets in 

 3-7 pairs, obovate oi' oblong to oblanceolate-oblong or obovate- 

 elliptical, apex broadly rounded, mucronulate, 1-4 cm. 1. ; glands 

 wanting. — Macf. Jam. i. 340 ; On'seb, op. cit. 209 ; Oliv. in Fl. 

 Trop. Afr. ii. 277 ; Benth. in Trans. Linn. Sac. xxvii. 553 ; 

 Bentl d'Trim. Med. PI. t. 89. C. Senna L. Sp. PI. 377 (1753) 

 (in part); Sw. O'js. Bot. 161; Wright Mem. 197. C. ligustrina 

 Mill. Gard. Diet. cd. 8 (1768) (non L.). Senna italica &c. Sloane 

 Cat. 148 & Hist. ii. 47. S. italica Mill. Gard. Diet. ed. 8 (1768). 



Senna. 



Palisadoes near Port Royal, also cultivated, Sloane Herb. vi. 23, 24 ! 

 Wright; Bancroft \ Macfadyen \ Grabhaml — West Indies (introduced). 

 Tropical and southern Africa and western Asia to India. 



Herbaceous, erect, 1-2 (4) ft. high, glaucous, glabrous, nearly puberulous. 

 Stipules lanceolate, acuminate, persistent, 4-6 mm. 1. Racemes axillary, 

 generally longer than the leaves, many-flowered. Bracts 4-7 mm. 1., soon 

 falling. Sepals subequal, about 8 mm. 1. Petals subequal, bright yellow, 

 veined, about 1 cm. 1. Pod flat, much compressed, rounded at both ends, 

 curved, with a series of crests in the middle of the valves, one over each 

 seed, 3-6 cm. 1., 1*5-2 cm. br. 



The leaflets of this species mixed with the leaflets of C. lanceolata, are 

 known as Alexandrian Senna, and both species are official in the British 

 Pharmacopoeia.] 



[C. glauca Lam. Encye. i. 647 (1785); leaflets in 6-4 pairs, 

 elliptical, apex rounded or obtuse, glaucous and puberulous or 

 glabresoent beneath, 3-7 cm, 1, ; glands ovoid or cylindrical 

 between the lower pairs of leaflets. — Griseb. op. cit. 208 ; Benth. in 

 Trans. Linn. Soc. xxvii. 555 ; Bak. in Hook. f. Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 265. 



Distin ! March I — West Indies (introduced), native of E. Indies, 

 Malaya, tropical Australia, Polynesia. 



A tree. Stipules curved, linear, 7-8 mm. 1. Racemes axillary, corym- 

 bose, long-stalked, with large bright-yellow flowers. Bracts at base of the 

 pedicels, oblong-acute, about 6 mm. 1. Sepals yellowish, obtuse, 5-10 

 mm. 1. Petals elliptical, 2-3 cm. 1. Stamens 10 fertile, subequal. Pod 

 flat, thin, straight, strap-shaped, glabrous, 1-1-5 dm, L, 13-17 mm, br.] 



III. Stamens 10 or fewer, all perfect (rarely 2-4 abortive 

 in C. lineata), similar, subequal ; anthers linear, opening by short 

 chinks at the apex. Pod flat, linear, elastically 2-valved, 



1. Flowers in racemes, which are terminal and sometimes 

 with solitary flowers in the upper axils. Plant viscose. 

 Leaflets 2 pairs. Glands none or minute between the pairs, 



16. C. Absus L. Sp. PI. 376 (1753) ; Jacq. Eclogse PI. Bar. i. 

 t. 53; Griseb. op. cit. 210; Benth. in. Trans. Linn. Soc. xxvii. 558. 



