ORDEE 46. LEGUMINOS^E. 301 



equal. In dry, sandy soils, Mass, to La. St. about If long, slender, branching. 

 Lfts. crowded, 4 to 6" by 1 to 2''. The petiolar gland, as in No. 1, placed 2 or 3'' 

 below the lowest pair of leaflets. Fls. very small (5'' broad), pale yellow, on 

 short pedicels. Jl. The leaves are quite sensitive, closing by night and when 

 touched. 



3 C. Marilandica L. AMERICAN SENNA. Perennial, smooth ; Ifts. 6 to 9 pairs, 

 oblong-lanceolate, mucronate, an obovoid gland near the base of the common petiole ; 

 fls. in axillary racemes and terminal panicles ; leg. curved, 12 to 2Q-seeded. This 

 handsome plant is frequently met with in alluvial soils (TJ. S.) growing in close 

 masses, 3 to 5f high. St. round, etriate, often with scattered hairs. Petioles 

 channeled above, and distinguished by the pedicelled gland near the base. Lfts. 

 1 to 2' by 4 to 9". Eacemes in the upper axils, forming a leafy panicle. Petals 

 bright yellow, 3 erect and 2 declined. In medicine it is a mild cathartic. Aug. 



4 C. occidentalis L. Annual, smooth ; Ifts. 3 to 6 pairs, ovate or lance-ovate. 

 sharply acuminate ; an obtuse, sessile gland at the base of the petiole ; fls. in axil- 

 lary, short racemes, and panicled above; leg. nearly straight, 25 to 40-seeded. 

 Waste grounds, Va. to Ga. (Feay), and La. Stem stout, sulcate, 4 to Gf high. 

 Lvs. 7 to 8' long, Ifts. 2 to 3'. Stip. deciduous. Fls. large, yellow. Pods strongly 

 margined, rigid, torulous. July. Cuba. 



5 C. obtusifolia L. Annual, smoothish; Ifts. about 6, obovate, obtuse; stip. 

 linear- subulate ; leg. very long and narrow, recurved, 20 to 40-seeded ; seeds 

 longitudinal. Dry soils, S. Car. to Fla. and La. Plant 1 to 3 to 4f high. St. 

 round, striate. Lvs. 1 to 2' long, half as wide. Pods about 6' long, hardly 2 ' 

 wide, the seeds longest, the same way with the pod, not transversely as in No. 4. 

 Fls. large, on slender pedicels. Jl. Oct. 



6 C. melanocarpa Vegel. Shrubby; Ifts. 2 or 3 pairs, narrowly lanceolate, 

 rather acute at each end, coriaceous ; gland pedicellate ; rac. pedunculate, in the 

 upper axils, as long as the leaves. Ga. Escaped from gardens (Feay). Lfts. 

 12 to 18'' by 4 to 5''. Fls. as large as in C Marilandica. 



9. CER'CIS, L. JUDAS TREE. &ED-BUD. (Gr. nepta^ a weaver's 

 shuttle ; sc. the legumes.) Calyx broadly camparmlate, 5-toothed ; 

 petals scarcely papilionaceous, all distinct ; wings longer than the vex- 

 illum and smaller than the keel petals ; stamens 10, distinct; legume 

 compressed, with the seed-bearing suture winged ; seeds obovate. 

 Trees with simple, cordate Ivs. and rose-colored fls. 



C. Canadensis L. Lvs. broadly ovate-cordate, acuminate, villous on the veins 

 beneath. A handsome tree, 20 to 3 Of high, Mid. and "W. States. The wood is 

 finely veined with black and green, and receives a fine polish. Lvs. 3 to 4' by 4 

 to 5', entire, smooth, 7 -veined, on petioles 1 to 2' long. The flowers appear in 

 advance of the leaves, in small, lateral clusters, clothing the whole tree in pur- 

 ple, in early Spring. The young twigs will dye wool a nankeen color. The old 

 author Gerarde in compliance with the popular notion of his time, says "This is 

 the tree whereon Judas did hang himself, and not oa the elder tree, as it is said." 



10. CLADASTRIS, Raf. YELLOW-WOOD. Calyx 5-toothed, teeth 

 short, obtuse ; petals of nearly equal length, those of the keel distinct 

 and straight like the wings; vex. large, roundish, reflexed; stam. 10, 

 distinct ; filaments glabrous, incurved, legume flat and thin, short-stiped, 

 5 or 6-seeded. A tree with yellow wood, pinnate Ivs., and pendulous 

 clusters of white fls. 



C. tinctoria Raf. Hills, in rich soils. TV. Ky. and TV. Tenn. Tree 20 to 40f 

 high, with a smooth greenish bark. Lfts. 7 to 11, stalked, oval, acuminate, 3 to 

 4' long. Rac. 6 to 10' long, compound, thyrse-like, showy, resembling those of 

 the common locust. Leg. as long as the leaflets, very narrow. Apr., May. 



11. BAPTIS'IA, Vent. WILD INDIGO. (Gr. jQaTrrw, to dye ; a use 

 to which some species are applied.) Calyx 4 to 5-cleft half way, per- 



