98 LeguminOSCB. \Casalpinia. 



Our 26 species of this sub-order are all low-country plants, only one, 

 Cassia mimosoides, reaching a little way up into the montane zone. 

 Peltophorum, Dialium and Banhinia are nearly confined to the dry 

 region ; Mezoneurum, Crudia and Humboldtia to the moist country ; 

 many species of Cassia are very common weeds. There are but two 

 endemic species, Dialium ovoideum, and Crudia zeylanica. 



48. C2ESAX.PXNXA,* L. 



Prickly woody climbers, 1. abruptly bipinnate, fl. large, in 

 terminal or axillary racemes or panicles ; cal. with an ex- 

 panded flattened base, segm. very deep, imbricate, the lowest 

 much the largest and covering the bud like a hood ; pet. 

 clawed, spreading, the uppermost much the smallest ; stam. 10, 

 distinct, declinate, 5 often longer than others ; pod flattened, 

 slowly dehiscent, 1- or few-seeded. — Sp. 40; 10 in Fl. B. hid. 



Pod very spiny {Guilandind) . . . . . 1. C. BONDUC. 

 Pod not spiny. 



Lflts. 2-3 pair in each pinna 2. C. Nuga. 



Lflts. 6-9 pair 3. C. sepiaria. 



Lflts. 10-12 pair . 4. C. digyna. 



1. C. Bonduc, Roxb. Hort. Beng. 32 (1814). KLumburu-wel, S. 

 FunaikkaXaichchi, T. 



Guilandina Bonduc, L., Moon Cat. 34. Thw. Enum. 94. C. P. 1524. 

 Fl. B. Ind. ii. 255. Rumph. Herb. Amb. v. t. 48. 



A stout climbing shrub, stems with fine grey pubescence 

 and scattered usually straight small prickles ; 1. very large, 

 main rachis 5-7 in., cylindrical, finely woolly-pubescent, pinnae 

 6-8 pair, if-2j in., spreading nearly at right angles, all with 

 numerous hooked prickles, usually in pairs on the under 

 surface, no stip., lflts. numerous, 10-14 (5-7 pair) to each 

 pinna, very shortly stalked, oval or oblong-oval, rounded at 

 base, obtuse, strongly mucronate, glabrous above, pubescent 

 on midrib and margin beneath ; fl. moderate-sized, articulated 

 with ped., ped. as long as cal., pubescent, bracts linear, longer 

 than cal., caducous, racemes long-stalked, pyramidal ; cal. 

 densely tomentose-pubescent ; pod shortly stalked, 2\-%\ in. 

 by \\ in. wide, ovoid, compressed, pubescent and covered with 

 very numerous long sharp spines, dehiscent; seeds 1-3, nearly 

 globular, f in., with a long funicle, smooth, greenish-grey. 



Low country, especially near the seacoast ; rather common, clamber- 

 ing over trees and bushes. Fl. Feb. ; bright yellow. 



* Commemorates Andrea Cassalpini of Arezzo, the founder of system- 

 atic botany. Died 1603. 



