LEGUMINOS^:. CCLXXV. CATHARTOCARPUS. 



453 



pairs of oval-oblong leaflets, which are equal at the base, mu- 

 cronate at the apex, puberulous above, but clothed with soft 

 tomentum beneath, when young tomentose ; petiole glandless ; 

 racemes axillary, shorter than the leaves ; legumes compressed, 

 wrinkled, very long. 17 . S. Native of the Caribbee islands, 

 Guiana, Brazil, and between Turbaco and Carthagena, &c. Cas- 

 sia grandis, Lin. fil. suppl. 230. Cassia mollls, Vahl. symb. 3. 

 p. 57. Jacq. fragm. t. 85. f. 3. in fruit. Cassia Brasiliana, 

 Lam. diet. 1. p. 649. Breyn. cent. t. 21. but not t. 14. Le- 

 gumes a little compressed, a foot and a half long. 



Great Purging-cassia. Clt. 1820. Tree 30 to 40 feet. 



2 C. FEKRUGI'NEUS ; leaves with 13-20 pairs of oblong-linear, 

 short-acuminated leaflets, which are cuneated on the upper side 

 at the base, and clothed with tomentose pubescence beneath ; 

 petiole glandless ; racemes about equal in length to the leaves, 

 erect ; branches angularly furrowed. T? . S. Native of Brazil. 

 Bactyrilobium ferrugineum, Schrad. in Gcett. anz. 1821. p. 713. 

 Cassia ferruginea, Schrad. in litt. 1825. Hardly distinct from 

 the preceding species, according to Nees. in flor. 1821. p. 328. 



Rusty Purging-cassia. Tree 30 to 40 feet. 



3 C. MOSCHA'TUS ; leaves wilh 14-18 pairs of oblong leaflets, 

 which are rounded at the apex, and clothed with soft pubescence 

 on both surfaces ; petiole glandless ; legumes cylindrical. lj . S. 

 Native of South America, near Mompox, on the banks of the 

 river Magdalena. Cassia moschata, H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. 

 amer. 6. p. 358. The pulp in the fruit has a musky scent ac- 

 cording to Bonpland. 



Aliif/cy Purging-cassia. Tree 40 feet. 



4 C. 8PECi6sus ; leaves with 14 pairs of oblong acutish leaflets, 

 which are smoothish above but clothed with soft pubescence 

 beneath ; petiole glandless ; racemes many-flowered ; legumes 

 terete, rather compressed, undulately annulated. T? . S. Na- 

 tive of South America, on the banks of the river Magdalena, 

 near the town of TenerifFe. Cassia speciosa, H. B. et Kunth, 

 nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 358. Cassia Humboldtiana, D.C. prod. 2. 

 p. 489. 



S/iony Purging-cassia. Clt. 1826. Tree 40 feet. 



5 C. MARGIN A'TUS ; leaves with 12-15 pairs of oval-oblong, 

 unequal leaflets, which are obtuse, emarginate, and mucronate at 

 the apex, clothed with velvety down beneath, as well as the 

 branches and petioles ; racemes axillary, much shorter than the 

 leaves. Jj . S. Native of Coromandel. Cassia marginata, 

 Roxb. hort. beng. p. 31. Cassia Roxburgh!!, D. C. prod. 2. 

 p. 489. 



Marginate-leaved Purging-cassia. Clt. 1810. Tree 20 ft. 



G C. TRINITA'TIS ; leaves with 8-10 pairs of ovate-oblong, 

 acuminated leaflets, which are rather puberulous, and shining a 

 little above, but paler, and clothed with rather villous down 

 beneath ; petioles glandless, and are as well as the branches and 

 peduncles clothed with fine velvety down ; panicle terminal. 

 Tj . S. Native of the island of Trinidad. Cassia Trinitatis, 

 Reichb. in Sieb. pi. exsic. trin. no. 57. 



Trinidad Purging-cassia. Clt. 1820. Tree 20 to 30 feet. 



7 C. SIEBERIA'NUS ; leaves with 8-10 pairs of ovate-oblong 

 shining leaflets, which are pale and beset with very minute pu- 

 bescence beneath ; petioles glandless ; branches, peduncles, and 

 calyxes clothed with fine velvety down ; racemes loose, brac- 

 teate. T? . S. Native of Senegal. C. Javanica aflfinis, Sieb. 

 pi. exsic. seneg. no. 48. Cassia Sieberiana, D. C. prod. 2. 

 p. 489. 



Sieber's Purging-cassia. Tree 20 to 30 feet. 



8 C. CONSPI cuus (G. Don, in edin. phil. journ. 1824.) leaflets 

 ovate-lanceolate, acuminated, and emarginate, 3-nerved at the 

 base, white beneath ; stipulas subulate ; racemes pendulous, 

 loose ; legumes terete, with elevated sutures. *j . S. Native 

 of Sierra Leone, where the pods are called Monkey drum- 



sticks. The tree has much the appearance of Laburnum when 

 in flower. 



Conspicuous Purging-cassia. Fl. Feb. Clt. 1793. Tree 20 

 to 30 feet. 



9 C. JAVA'NICUS (Pers. ench. 1. p. 459.) leaves with 12-15 

 pairs of ovate, obtuse, glabrous leaflets ; petioles glandless ; ra- 

 cemes axillary ; legumes nearly cylindrical, very long, and trans- 

 versely torose. T? . S. Native of Java and the Moluccas, 

 &c. Cassia Javanica, Lin. spec. 542. exclusive of the syno- 

 nymes. Rumph. amb. 2. t. 22. Cassia Bacillus, Gaertn. fruct. 1. 

 p. 318. Flowers flesh-coloured. Legumes 2 feet long, rather 

 thick, containing a black cathartic pulp as the rest of the species, 

 which is given to horses, hence its name, Horse-cassia, in the 

 East Indies. 



Java Purging-cassia. Clt. 1 779. Tree 30 to 40 feet. 



10 C. EXCE'LSUS ; leaves with 7 pairs of ovate-oblong, acutish 

 leaflets, beset with minute scattered hairs on both surfaces ; pe- 

 tioles glandless. T? . G. Native of South America, near Porto- 

 Cabello, and in the valleys of Araguen. Cassia excelsa, H. B. 

 et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 6. p. 339. but not of Schrad. Cassia 

 Bonplandiana, D. C. prod. 2. p, 490. Flowers and fruit un- 

 known. Nearly allied to C. Fistula. 



Tall Purging-cassia. Tree 30 to 40 feet. 



1 1 C. ATTE'LEH ; leaves bipinnate, glandless, glabrous ; leaf- 

 lets ovate-oblong, glaucous-green ; legumes long, cylindrical ; 

 seeds covered with green pulp when mature. fy . G. Native 

 of Egypt, at Abo Qoulgui, in the province of Qamanay, where it 

 is called Atteleh. Cassia Atteleh, Gailliaud, in fl. meroe, 1826. 

 Nearly related to C. Fistula. 



Atteleh Purging-cassia. Tree 20 feet. 



12 C. FI'STULA (Pers. ench. 1. p. 459.) leaves with 4-6 pairs 

 of ovate, rather acuminated, glabrous leaflets ; petioles glandless ; 

 racemes loose, bractless ; legumes cylindrical, rather obtuse, 

 smooth. Tj . S. Native of the East Indies, from whence it has 

 been introduced to South America and the West Indies. Cassia 

 Fistula, Lin. spec. 540. Gaertn. fruct. 2. t. 147. f. 1. Woodv. 

 med. hot. t. 164. Regn. bot. with a figure, Lam. ill. t. 332. 

 Neck. voy. aegypt. p. 21. t. 4. Rumph. amb. 2. t. 21. Plench. 

 icon. t. 327. Pods cylindrical, with elevated sutures, 1-2 feet 

 long, containing a black sweet pulp. This pulp is an easy and 

 gentle laxative. There are two sorts of this drug in the shops, 

 one brought from the East Indies, the other from the West. The 

 pods of the latter are generally large, rough, thick, rounded, and 

 the pulp nauseous ; those of the former are smaller, smoother, 

 the pulp blacker, and of a sweeter taste, and are preferred to the 

 other. Such pods should be chosen as are heavy and new, and 

 do not make any rattling noise, from the seeds being loose 

 within, when shaken, indicating that the pulp is dried up. 

 The pulp should be of a bright shining black colour, and have a 

 sweet taste. The greatest part of the pulp dissolves both in 

 water and alcohol, and may be extracted from the pod by either. 

 In the shops they boil the bruised pods in water, and evaporate 

 the solution to a due consistence. Vauquelin has analyzed the 

 pulp, and found it to consist of parenchyma, gluten, gelatine, gum, 

 extractive, and crystallizable sugar. In medicine, the pulp from 

 its saccharine and extractive constituents is a gentle laxative, 

 and is recommended in a dose of some drachms in costive 

 habits. In larger quantities it generally excites nausea, although 

 some recommend it. 



Fistula-podded Purging-cassia or Pudding Pipe-tree. Fl. June, 

 July. Clt. 1731. Tree 30 to 50 feet. 



13 C. RHOMBIFOLIUS ; leaves with 3-4 pairs of ovate-roundish, 

 very blunt, glabrous leaflets ; petioles glandless ; racemes loose. 



fj. S. Native of the Island of Timor. Cassia rhombifolia. 

 Roxb. hort. beng. p. 31. Cassia Fistula, var. ft. 1 ovata, D. C, 

 prod. 2. p. 490. 



