190 LEGUIVflNOS^. Cassia. 



resembles llic Senna of the shops (which is also a species of Cassia) in its medicinal proper- 

 lies, and may he siibsiilutcd for it. See ihe works on materia medica quoted above ; also 

 Wood ^ Bache's U. S. Dispens. p. 182. 



^2. Lasiorhecma, Vogel. Slamens \0, or bi/ abortion 0- 5. Anthers all fertile, commonly oj 



unequal length, linear. 



2. Cassia Ciiam^ecrista,. Linn. Pai-tridge Pea. Sensitive Pea. 



Annual, erect or decumbent ; leaflets in numerous pairs, linear-oblong, oblique at the base, 

 obtuse, mucronatc ; gland on the petiole cnp-shaped ; fascicles of flowers above the axils of 

 the leaves ; pedicels slender, bracteolate near the summit ; flowers large ; sepals with a long 

 attenuate point ; style filiform. — Michx. Jl. 1. p. 262 ; Smith in Abbot, ins. Georg. t. 94 ; 

 Bot. mag. t.iOl; Pursh, Jl. I. p. 306 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 473 ; Bigel. jl. Bost. p. 171 ; Torr. 

 fl. I. p. 439 ; DC. prodr. 2. p. 503 ; Beck, bot. p. 94 ; Darlingt. Jl. Cest. p. 433 ; Torr. ^ 

 Gr. Jl. N. Am. 1. p. 395. 



Stem commonly procumbent, spreading and branching from the base, about a foot long, 

 pubescent. Leaflets 10-15 pairs, 6-8 lines long, smooth. Stipules and bracts subulate, 

 striate, persistent. Fascicles 2 - 4-flowered : pedicels nearly an inch long, each with two 

 bractcoles a little below the flower. Calyx colored, two-thirds the length of the corolla. Petals 

 orange-yellow, obovate, two and sometimes three of them with a purple spot at the base. 

 Anthers elongated, nearly sessile, four of them yellow, the rest purple. Style smooth, longer 

 than the villous ovarv. Legume about 2 inches long and one-third of an inch wide, 10 - 15- 

 seedcd, hairy along the suttires, smoothish on the sides. 



Sandy fields : Sla'en Island ; Long Island ; in the neighborhood of New-York ; and along 

 the Hudson to Troy ; rare in the interior of the State. July - September. 



3. Cassia nictitans, Linn. Wild Sensitive Plant. 



Annual, erect or decumbent ; leaflets in numerous pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, mucronatc ; 

 gland beneath the lowest pair of leaflets cup-shaped, slightly pedicellate ; fascicles of flowers 

 above the axils of the leaves, 2 - 3-flowered ; pedicels very short ; flowers small ; sepals 

 acuminate ; slamens 5, nearly equal ; style very short. — Linn, liort. Cliff, t. 36 ; Michx. 

 Jl. I. p. 262 ; Pursh, Jl. 1. p. 206 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 474 ; Torr. Jl. 1. p. 440 ; DC. prodr. 2. 

 p. 503 ; Beck, bot. p. 94; Darlingt. Jl. Cest. p. 432 ; Torr. <^ Gr. fl. N. Am. 1. p. 396. 



Stem 8 - 12 inches high, with spreading branches from the base, pubescent, commonly 

 purplish, slender. Leaflets 10-20 pairs, 4-6 lines long, a little oblique at the base, often 

 cmarginate, nearly smooth. Gland on the petiole dilated, purplish, on a short stalk. Flowers 

 3-4 lines long. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, with a long acumination. Petals deep yellow, 

 obovate. Anthers truncated at the summit, opening by longitudinal slits their whole length. 

 Ovary villous, more than twice the length of the style, which is thickened at the extremity : 

 stigma truncate. Legume an inch and a half long, flat, clothed with appresscd hairs. 



