Forage Plants of Australia 27 



OEDER LEGUMlNOS^l. 



CASSIA EKEMOPHILA, A. CUNN. 



" Desert Cassia." 

 Flora Austr., Vol. II, p. 287. 



Ax erect bushy shrub, glabrous or slightly hoary. The leaves are composed 

 of one or two pairs of leaflets, which are thick and round, or slightly 

 flattened out, and rarely above an inch long. The flowers are yellow, several 

 of them arranged in a corymbose raceme, on short stalks. These are 

 succeeded by straight or slightly curved pods rarely above i of an inch broad. 

 This plant is found in the arid interior of all the Australian colonies, and in 

 some situations it is still fairly plentiful. It will withstand a phenomenal 

 amount of heat and dry weather. This may partly be accounted for by the 

 plant having such little leaf surface for transpiration. The plant is 

 admirably suited to the dry, hot, central parts of this continent, where it 

 affords, in times of scarcity of other herbage, an excellent standby for 

 stock, especially sheep, they being remarkably fond of the young green seed- 

 pods which the plant bears in profusion. When the plant is not too closely 

 fed down it matures a great amount of seed, which will, when newly 

 Gathered, germinate readily under ordinary conditions. "When the seed 

 becomes old, however, it is excessively hard, and should be steeped in water 

 for two or three days previous to sowing, or germination will be very slow. 

 Torrefying the seed to facilitate germination is an excellent plan when done 

 with discretion just being sufficient to crack the skin without injury to the 

 embryo. 



This shrub is well worthy the attention of horticulturists, for when it is 

 in flower it is really a charming object, and, as it blooms SD profusely during 

 the early spring months, it makes a grand addition to and forms quite a 

 feature in the shrubbery or flower garden. I have grown plants from seed, 

 and in eighteen months they were 3 feet high and feet through. When 

 they were in flower they never failed to attract the attention of persons who 

 took little interest in plants. Tb-e only care that is necessary in their culti- 

 vation is to see that the ground they are growing in is of a dry nature: 

 nothing harms the shrub so much as stagnant moisture. This fact should 

 be noted by those who want to cultivate the plant. 



