254 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



2. Ccemlpiniece. This Suborder does not appear to have any decidedly 

 poisonous properties ; "but a purgative quality is very common, as in Senna, 

 Cassia obovata, Senna acutifolia, and lanceolata ; C. marilandica and other 

 North -American species have similar properties. Cassia or Cathartocarpus 

 Fistula has a purgative fruit ; and the pulp of the Tamarind (Tamarindus 

 indica) shares this quality. Besides the Tamarind, other fruits, less acid, 

 are eaten, as the Tamarind Plum (Dialtum indicum) and the Tamarinds 

 of Sierra Leone, which are species of Codarium. Carobs or Algarobs, the 

 legumes of CeratoniaSiliqua (also called St. John's, or the Locust-tree), are 

 used for feeding horses in Spain, and have recently been imported for 

 feeding stock in this country. Gleditschia triacanthos bears a similar fruit, 

 called in North America the Honey-locust ; the fruit of the West-Indian 

 Locust, Hymencea Courbaril, is somewhat similar, but is said to purge 

 when fresh gathered ; a kind of beer is made from it by decoction and fer- 

 mentation. Many Ccesalpiniece have bitter and astringent properties, and 

 are sometimes used in medicine, several of them in tanning and dye- 

 ing, as Divi di vi, the pods of C&salpinia Coriaria, one of the most powerful 

 of known astringents ; the bark of some species of Bauhinia and Cassia 

 are used in similar ways. The dye-woods are important, namely Log- 

 wood (H&matoxylon campechianuni) , Brazil-wood or Pernambuco-wood 

 (Ccesalpinia echinata, brasiliensis, and other species), Cam-wood or Bar- 

 wood (Baphia nitida), &c. The West-Indian Locust-tree (Hymencea 

 Courbaril}) the Purple-heart of Guiana (Copoiferapubiflora and bracteata\ 

 Mclanoxylon Brauena, Eperua falcata, &c. yield very hard and durable 

 timber. The size of some of the Caesalpineous trees of the South-Ame- 

 rican forests is said to be enormous, as much as 84 feet in circumference 

 at the base, where large projecting buttresses occur, and 60 feet at the 

 commencement of the clear run of the trunk. 



The bark of Bauhinia racemosa and parviflora is used for cordage in the 

 East Indies. Gum is yielded by several, as by Bauhinia retusa and B. emar- 

 gitmta in the East Indies, and Pithecolobitim gummiferum in Brazil. Anime 

 resin ie obtained from Hymencea Courbaril ; Mexican Copal probably from 

 an allied plant : Brazilian Copal from various species of this genus, and 

 from Trachylobium Martianum ; Madagascar Copal, and perhaps that of 

 the East Indies in general, from Hymencea verrucosa. Balsam of Copaiba 

 is derived from various West-Indian and Brazilian species of Copaifera ; 

 Balsam of Peru from Myro.rylon Pereirce : Balsam of Tolu from M. tolui- 

 ferum. Aloexylum Af/aHochum yields one kind of Eagle- or Aloes-wood, 

 the other coming from an Aquilaria. 



3. Mimosece. Mucilaginous juices concreting into gum and astringent 

 properties of the bark are the most striking qualities of this Suborder. 

 Gum Acacia and its varieties are yielded by several species of Acacia : 

 A. Verek and Adansonii (Gum Senegal) in West Africa, A. nilotica and 

 Seyal (Gum Arabic) in Nubia, A. arabica, spinosa, and ( Vachellid) Farne- 

 siana in the East Indies, A. decurrens, mollissima, and affinis in Australia. 

 The bark of most species of Acacia is very astringent, and many kinds are 

 used for tanning in India; the pods of A. nilotica are used for the same 

 purpose ; and the astringent substance called Catechu is obtained by 

 extraction with water from the heart-wood of Acacia Catechu. Various 

 species of Inya, Prosopis, &c. are very astringent. Some East-Indian 

 Acacias yield valuable timber ; the legumes of A. concinna and the large 



