218 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



rcsfinliliii^' tliat <>f i>nim'>^. When tlic wiinl Mows the ])('ndnlons pods strike 

 toj^t'tluT ami make a rattlin<r iKiisc. 



This tree is said to In- a native of upper Epypt and India, wlience it lias been 

 introduced into nearly all tropical countries. Tt has liei-n jrrowing in (iuam at least 

 u century, but, liki- tlie tamarind, does not reproduce itself here sj)ontaneously. 

 The wood is hard and heavy, but the natives do not utilize it. It is found growing 

 in many places on the sites of abandoned ranches. In Honolulu it is one of the 

 principal shade tri'cs ami is highly prized for the beauty of its flowers. 



The pulp is a valuable laxative, and is much used in medicine. It is apt to 

 become .'^our it long exposed to the air, or moldy if kept in a damp place. It is 

 extracted from tiic jxxls l)y bruising them and then boiling them in water, after 

 which the decoction is evai)orated. It maybe obtained from fresh jxxls l»y opening 

 them at the sutures and removing the pulp with a spatula. The pulj) hati a sweet, 

 mucilaginous taste. It contains sugar, gum, a substance analogous to tannin, a color- 

 ing matter soluble in ether, traces of a principle resembling gluten, and a little water. 

 It may be advantageously given in small doses in cases of habitual costiveness 

 (4 to S gm. ), and in doses of one or two ounces (HO to GO gm.) it acts as a jiurgative." 

 References: 



Cassia fdula L. ^]h PI. 1:877. 1753. 



Cassia niimosoides. Tea senna. 



Local na.mks. — Kobo-cha, Nemu-cha, Ichinen-cha (Japan). 

 A low diffuse perennial, with slender, shrubby, finely downy branches. Leaves 

 resembling those of the sensitive plant, 2.5 to 7.5 cm. long, with a solitary sessile 

 gland on the rachis below the leaflets; leaflets 60 to 100, linear, rigidly coriaceous, 

 3 to 3.5 nun. long, obliquely mucronate, with the midrib close to the upper 

 border; stipules large, linear-subulate, persistent; flowers yellow, 1 or 2 in the axils 

 of the leaves on short pedicels; sepals lanceolate-acuminate, bristly; corolla little 

 exserted; stamens 10, alternately longer and shorter; pod strap-shaped, flat, dehis- 

 cent, 3.5 to 5 cm. long by 3.5 nun. broad, nearly straight, glabrescentor finely downy; 

 septa more or less oblique. 



In Japan, where it grows both wild and in cultivation, the young stem and leaves 

 are cut and dried as a substitute for tea. 



References: 



Cassia mimosoides L. Sp. PI. 1 : 379. 1753. 



Cassia occidentalis. Coffee senna. Negro coffee. 



Local names. — Mumutnn sable (Guam); Balatong aso (Philipi>ines) ; Frijo- 

 lillo (Panama); Hierba hedionda (Cuba); Hedionda (Porto Rico); Bantamare 

 (Senegal); Herbe puante (French). 



A glabrous, ill-smelling weed, 60 to 90 cm. high, with abruptly pinnate leaves, hav- 

 ing a single large ovate gland just above the base of the petiole. Leaflets 4 to 6 pairs, 

 without glands between them, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, rounded at the base, 

 acute, 2.5 to 7.5 cm. long, glabrous on both sides, or finely pubescent; flowers yellow, 

 pedicelled; racemes short, closely crowded, axillary; stamens 10, the upper 3 imper- 

 fect; calyx lobes oblong, ol)tuse, glabrous; pod'linear, glabrous. 10 to 12.5 cm. long 

 by 2.5 to 7.5 cm. broad, somewhat curve<l, its margins thickened. 



This ])lant is of wide distril)ution in the Tropics, and in the warmer temperate 

 regions of the globe. It was introduced into Guam more than a century ago, and is 

 common in abandoned clearings, in waste places, and along the beach. 



The seeds, sometimes called "negro coffee," are used in some parts of the world as 

 a sul)stitute for coffee and arc said to be a febrifuge. In Senegambia an infusion of 

 the roasted seeds having an agreeable flavor not unlike coffee is used by the natives. 

 This plant has been used as a remedy for stomach troubles, nervous asthma, and 



« United States Dispensatory, p. 341, 1899. 



