GLEDITSCHIA. XLVII. LEGUMINOS^E. 237 



scattered hairs. Petioles channeled above, and distinguished by the pedicelled 

 gland near the base. Leaflets 1 2' by 4 9". Racemes in the upper axils, 

 forming a leafy panicle. Petals bright-yellow, 3 erect and 2 declined. In medi- 

 cine it is a mild cathartic. Aug. 



2. C. CHAMJECRISTA. Sensitive Pea. Dwarf Cassia,. 



St. erect or decumbent ; Ifts. 8 12 pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, mucronate ; 

 gland on the petiole subsessile; fascicks , of flowers supra-axillary, subsessile; 

 anthers 10, all fertile. An elegant plant, in dry soil, Mass. Mid. W. and S. 

 States. Stem 2f high, round, pubescent. Leaflets crowded, 4 8" by 1 2i", 

 smooth, subsessile. Flowers large, 2, 3 or 4 in each fascicle. Bracts lance- 

 subulate, as are also the stipules, persistent. Petals bright yellow, the 2 upper 

 ones with a purple spot. Aug. The leaves possess considerable irritability. 



3. C. NICTITANS. Wild Sensitive Plant. 



St. erect or procumbent ; Ifts. 6 15 pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, mucro- 

 nate, sessile ; gland mi the petiole slightly pedicellate ; fls. small, 2 or 3 in each 

 supra-axillary, subsessile fascicle ; sta. 5, subequal. In dry sandy soils, Mass, 

 to La. Stem about If long, slender, a little branching. Leaflets crowded, 4 

 6" by 1 2", common petiole 12' long, with the gland a line or two below the 

 -owest pair of leaflets. Flowers very small, pale yellow, on short pedicels. Jl. 

 The leaves are quite sensitive, closing by night and when touched. 



36. GYMNOCLlDUS. Lam. 



Gr. yvpvos, naked, /cAaJoj, a shoot; for its coarse, naked shoots in winter- 



Flowers 9 cT- cT Calyx tubular, 5-cleft, equal ; petals 5, inserted 

 into the summit of the tube; stamens 10, distinct. 9 Calyx and 

 corolla as above ; style 1 ; legumes 1 -celled, oblong, very large, pulpy 

 within. A slend er , unarmed tree, with unequally bipinnate Ivs. Lfts. 

 ovate^ acuminate. 



G. CANADENSIS. Lam. Coffee Tree. 



Grows in Western N. Y., Ohio, la. ! &c., on the borders of lakes and riv- 

 ers. Height 50f, with a trunk 15' diam., straight and simple to the height of 

 25f, covered with a rough, scaly bark, and supporting a rather small, but regu- 

 lar head. The compound leaves are 2 3f long, and 15 20' wide, being doubly 

 compounded of a great number of dull green leaflets. Single leaflets often oc- 

 cupy the place of some of the pinnae. Flowers large and white, succeeded by 

 large, curving pods containing several hard, gray seeds. The wood is reddish, fine- 

 grained and strong, and is valuable in architecture, and cabinet-work. May Jl. 



37. GLEDITSCHIA. 



In honor of John G. Gleditsch, a botanical writer, Leipzig, about 1750. 



Flowers 9 $ cT. Sepals equal, 3 5, united at base ; petals 3 5 ; 

 stamens 3 5, distinct, opposite the sepals, sometimes by abortion 

 fewer or ; style short ; legume continuous, compressed, often inter- 

 cepted between the seeds by a quantity of sweet pulp. Trees, with 

 supra-axillary, branched spines. Lvs. abruptly pinnate and bipinnate 

 often in the same specimen. 



G. TRI ACANTHUS. Honey Locust. 



Branches armed with stout, triple spines ; Ifts. alternate, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, obtuse ; leg. linear-oblong, compressed, intervals filled with sweet pulp. 

 This fine tree, native from Penn. to Mo. and La., is becoming common in cul- 

 tivation. In favorable circumstances it attains the height of 70f, undivided half 

 its length, with a diameter of 3 4f. The thorns with which its branches are 

 armed in a most formidable manner, are 23' long, ligneous, often having 2 

 secondary ones branching from the sides. Foliage light and elegant. Leaflets 

 about 18^ 1 l|'long, $ as wide, 1, 2 or 3 of them frequently transformed, either 

 partly or wholly, into smaller leaflets ( 240, 6). Flowers small, white, suc- 

 ceeded by flat, crooked, hanging pods 1218' long, of a dull red. Seeds flat, 

 hard, brown, imbedded in a fleshy substance, at first sweet but becomes sour. Jn. 



