108 LEGUMINOS-E. (PULSE FAMILY.) 



lete. Base of the petioles hollow, and enclosing the leaf-buds of the next year. 

 Bracts minute and fugacious. (Name of obscure derivation.) 



1. C. tinctoria, Raf. (Virgilia lutea, Michx. /.) Rich hill-sides, E. 

 Kentucky and Tennessee. May. Racemes 10' -20' long. Flowers 1' long 



SUBORDER II. C^ESAtPINIE^E. THP BRASILETTO FAMILY. 



31. CERCIS, L. RED-BUD. JUDAS-TKEE. - 



Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla imperfectly papilionaceous : standard smaller than 

 the wings, and enclosed by them in the bud : the keel-petals larger and not 

 united. Stamens 10, distinct, rather unequal. Pod oblong, flat, many-seeded, 

 the upper suture with a winged margin. Embryo straight. Trees, with 

 rounded-heart-shaped simple leaves, deciduous stipules, and red-purple flowers 

 in little umbel-like clusters along the branches, appearing before the leaves, acid 

 to the taste. (The ancient name of the Oriental Judas-tree.) 



1. C. Canadnsis, L. (RED-BUD.) Leaves pointed; pods nearly 

 Sessile above the calyx. Rich soil, New York to Ohio, Kentucky, and south- 

 ward. March - May. A small ornamental tree, often cultivated : the blossoms 

 smaller than in the European species. 



32. CASSIA, L. SENNA. 



Sepals 5, scarcely united. Petals 5, unequal, not papilionaceous, spreading. 

 Stamens 5-10, unequal, and some of them often imperfect, spreading: anthers 

 opening by 2 pores or chinks at the apex. Pod many-seeded, often with cross 

 partitions. Herbs (in the United States), with simply and abruptly pinnate 

 leaves, and mostly yellow flowers. (An ancient name, of obscure derivation.) 



* Leaflets large : stipules deciduous : the 3 upper anthers deformed and imperfect : 



flowers crowded in short axillary racemes, the upper ones panicled. 

 JL. C. Marilandica, L. (WiLD SENNA.) Leaflets 6-9 pairs, lanceo- 

 late-oblong, obtuse ; petiole with a club-shaped gland near the base ; pods linear, 

 slightly curved, flat, at first hairy (2' -4'). 1|. Alluvial soil, common. July. 

 Stem 3 - 4 high. Leaves used as a substitute for the officinal Senna. 



2. C. OCCIDENTALS, L. Leaflets 4-6 pairs, ovate-lanceolate, acute or point- 

 ed ; an ovate gland at the base of the petiole ; pods elongated-linear (5' long) 

 with a tumid border, glabrous. (D U ^ Virginia and southward. Aug. 

 (Adv. from Trop. Amer.) 



* * Leaflets small, somewhat sensitive to the touch : stipules striate, persistent : a cup- 

 sJiaped gland beneath the lowest pair of leaflets : anthers all perfect : flowers in 

 small clusters above the axils : pods flat. 



3. C. Chamsecrista, L. (PARTRIDGE PEA.) Leaflets 10- 15 pairs, 

 linear-oblong, oblique at the base; flowers (large) on slender pedicels ; anthers 10, 

 elongated, unequal (4 of them yellow, the others purple) ; style slender. 

 Sandy fields; common, especially southward. Aug. Stems spreading, 1 

 long : 2 or 3 of the showy yellow petals often with a purple spct at the base. 



