680 



CASIMIROA 



CASSIA 



gamo-dioecious; calyx 5-parted, small; petals 5, oblong, 

 valvate, apex incurved; disk inconspicuous, circular; 

 stamens 5, free; filaments subulate; anthers cordate; 

 ovary sessile, on disk, globose, 5- or occasionally 6-8- 

 lobed, 5-celled; stigma sessile, 5-lobed; ovules solitary 

 in the cells, axillary: fr. a drupe, large, depressed-glo- 

 bose; pulp agreeable to taste, edible; seeds oblong, com- 

 pressed, exalbuminose. Four species in Mex. and S. 



edulis, Llav. & Lex. WHITE SAPOTE. COCHIL SAPOTA. 

 Large tree: trunk ashen gray, with warty excrescences: 

 Ivs. dark green, glossy: fls. greenish yellow, small: fr. 

 greenish yellow when ripe, with strong, thick epicarp, 

 3^in. thick, about the size of an orange; seeds nearly 

 1 in. long and hah" as wide. Mex. The fr. of this spe- 

 cies has a delicious flavor, similar to that of a peach. 

 It is used in Mex. as an aid in inducing sleep, and the 

 Ivs. as a remedy for diarrhea. It grows on the coast of 

 Mex. to an altitude of about 7,000 ft. See Sapote, 

 White - H. J. WEBBER. 



CASSABANANA: Sicana. 

 CASSANDRA: Chamsedaphne. 

 CASSAVA: Manihot. 



CASSEBEERA (from a German botanist). Polypo- 

 diacese. Small Brazilian ferns allied to the maiden- 

 hair, but rarely seen in cult. There are 3 species: 

 sori terminal on the veins, oblong or nearly globular; 

 indusium within the margin and distinct from it. They 

 require hothouse conditions. C. pinndta, Kaulf., has 

 fronds 6 in. long, pinnate, the pinnse linear-oblong and 

 crenate. C. triphylla, Kaulf., has 3-5-parted fronds, the 

 parts linear-oblong and crenate. C. gleichenioides, Gardn., 

 has twice-pinnate fronds, the pinnules 4-cornered. 



CASSIA (ancient Greek name) . Leguminbsse. SENNA. 

 Herbs, shrubs or trees, a few of which are in cultivation 

 in America, as border plants and under glass. 



Leaves even-pinnate: fls. nearly regular (not papilio- 

 naceous), with the nearly equal calyx-teeth mostly 

 longer than the tube; corolla of 5 spreading, nearly 

 equal clawed spreading petals; stamens 5-10, frequently 

 unequal and some of the anthers abortive, the good 

 anthers opening at the top: fr. a stalked pod which is 

 either flat or terete, containing numerous seeds and 

 often partitioned crosswise. Species nearly or quite 

 400 in the warmer parts of the globe, some of them in 

 cool temperate regions. See page 3566. 



The cassias delight in a sunny exposure. Most of 

 those cultivated in the United States are herbs or herb- 

 like shrubs, attractive for the finely cut foliage and the 

 showy flowers. Some of them are cultivated only in the 

 extreme South. C. corymbosa is probably the best gar- 

 den subject. Cassias are summer bloomers, for the 

 most part. Propagation is mostly by divisions and seeds, 

 the annual species always by seeds. 



Senna leaves, used in medicine as a cathartic, are 

 derived from various species, chiefly from C. acutifolia 

 of Egypt, and C. anguslifolia of India and other Old 

 World tropics. The "Cassia lignea" of pharmacopoeas 

 is the product of a Cinnamomum. Cassia pods of com- 

 merce, used in medicine, are the fruits of C. Fistula. 

 Many of the species contribute to therapeutics. Some 

 of them provide tanning materials. 



A. Hardy border plants: Ifts. 5 or more pairs. 



marylandica, Linn. WILD SENNA. Perennial, gla- 

 brous or nearly so, sts. nearly simple: Ifts. 5-10 pairs, 

 oblong or lance-oblong and entire, short-acuminate or 

 nearly obtuse : fls. in axillary racemes near the tops of 

 the sts. and often appearing as if panicled, bright yel- 

 low, wide open: pods linear, flat. New England, west 

 and south, mostly in wet soil. Grows 3-4 ft. high, and 

 has attractive light green foliage. 



Chamaecrista, Linn. (Charmecrista nictitans, Moench). 

 PARTRIDGE PEA. Annual, erect or spreading, 2 ft. or 



less high: Ifts. 10-15 pairs, small, narrow-oblong, 

 mucronate, sensitive to the touch: fls. large, 2-5 to- 

 gether in the axils, canary-yellow and 2 of the petals 

 purple-spotted. Dry soil, Maine, south and west. 

 Sometimes known as Magothy Bay bean and sensitive 

 pea, and formerly recommended as a green-manuring 

 plant. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric., Vol. II, p. 309, for 

 account and picture. 



AA. Tender plants, grown far south, or under glass: 



Ifts. few or many. 



B. Tree, with woody indehiscent pods. 

 Fistula, Linn. PUDDING- PIPE TREE. GOLDEN 

 SHOWER. Lvs. large, the Ifts. 4-8 pairs, and ovate- 

 acuminate: fls. in long lax racemes, yellow, the pedicels 

 without bracts: pods cylindrical, black, 3-furrowed, 

 1-2 ft. long, containing 1-seeded compartments. India, 

 but intro. in W. Indies and other tropical countries. 

 Sparingly cult. S. Furnishes the cassia pods of com- 

 merce. 



grandis, Linn. PINK SHOWER. Lfts. 10-20, oblong, 

 abrupt at either end, more or less pubescent beneath 

 and above: fls. in long drooping axillary racemes, rosc- 

 colored, without bracts subtending the pedicels: pod 

 3 in. or less long, compressed-cylindrical, glabrous, 

 transversely rugose. Trop. Amer.; offered in S. Calif., 

 and grown in many tropical countries. 



BB. Shrubs or herbs, with more or less dehiscent pods. 



Sophera, Linn. (C. schinifblia. DC. C. Sophora, 

 Auth.). Shrub, 6-10 ft.: Ifts. 6-10 pairs, lanceolate- 

 acute: fls. yellow on many-fld. axillary and terminal 

 peduncles, which are shorter than the Ivs.: pod thin, 

 tardily dehiscent. Oriental tropics. Intro, in S. Calif. 



corymbdsa, Lam. (C. floribunda, Hort.). Shrub, 

 half-hardy in middle states, 4-10 ft.: Ifts. 3 pairs, 

 oblong-lanceolate and somewhat falcate, obtuse or 

 nearly so: fls. yellow, in long-stalked, small axillary 

 and terminal corymbs. Argentina. B.M. 633. G.C. 

 III. 31:252. Gn. 50, p. 139. J.H. HI. 61:139. G. 

 25:553. H.F. II. 3:252. G.W. 3, p. 421; 6, p. 391. 

 The best-known -garden species, being an excellent con- 

 servatory plant for spring, summer and autumn bloom. 

 It is an old favorite, now coming again into prominence 

 (as C. floribunda and var. A. Boehm, corrupted appar- 

 ently into C. Boema) as a pot-plant, as a tub specimen 

 for lawns, or for plunging in the border; winters readily 

 in a dormant state in a cellar; very free-flowering. 



tomentdsa, Linn. Shrub, 10-12 ft.: Ifts. 6-8 pairs, 

 oval-oblong and obtuse ; white-tomentose beneath: fls. 

 deep yellow. Mex. Said to be a good winter bloomer 

 in S. Calif ., and naturalized in some parts. 



artemisoides, Gaud. Bushy shrub, soft-canescent 

 and gray all over: Ifts. 3-4 pairs, very narrow-linear: 

 racemes axillary, 5-8-fld., the fls. sulfur-yellow: pods 

 flat, shining brown. Austral. Intro, in S. Calif. With- 

 stands drought. 



bifl6ra, Linn. Shrub, 4-8 ft. : Ifts. 6-10 pairs, broad- 

 oblong or obovate-oblong, very obtuse but mucronu- 

 late: fls. large, yellow, on 2-4-fld. peduncles, which 

 are shorter than the Ivs: pod 3 in. or less long, oblong- 

 linear or narrower, membranaceous. S. Amer. and W. 

 Indies. B.M. 810. Sparingly cult, in greenhouses. 



C. Isevigata, Willd. Shrub, glabrous: Ifts. 3-4 pairs, ovate-oblong 

 or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate: fls. yellow in terminal and axillary 

 racemes: pod leathery, 2-3 in. long, nearly cylindrical. Tropics. 

 C. occidentAlis, Linn. HEDIONDA. Annual or subshrubby, widely 

 distributed in the tropics as a weed, the seeds used as a substitute 

 for coffee; it is the "fedegosa" and "negro coffee" of Afr.: Ifts. 4-12 

 pairs, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, acuminate, and a gland near 

 the base of the petiole: racemes short and few-fld.: pod glabrous, 

 oblong-linear compressed or nearly cylindrical; the small seeds pro- 

 duced abundantly C. spUndida, Vogel. Shrub, 6-10 ft., much 

 branched: fls. bright yellow, very large. S. Amer. Recently cata- 

 logued in S. Calif. Others of the numerous species of Cassia are 

 likely to appear in cult., particularly some of the native kinds; but 

 as a whole, the genus is not rich in horticultural subjects. 



L. H. B. 



