GLEDITSCIIIA. XLVil. LEGUMlNOSjE. 237 



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

 gland near the base. Leaflets 1 2' by 49". 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 ; fascicles 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 2$", 

 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 ; tfts. 6 15 pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, mucro- 

 nate, sessile ; gland on the petiole slightly pedicellate ; Jls. 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, *Xa<Jo$, a shoot; for its coarse, naked shoots in winter. 



Flowers 9 <? & 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 slender, 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 $ $ <?. 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. TRIACANTHUS. 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 2 3' long, ligneous, often having 2 

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

 about 18," 1 H'teng, 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. 



