238 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



pairs, linear, oblong, obtuse or somewhat acute, mucronate ; raceme terminal, subsessile ; 

 calyx very villous; segments about as long as the tube. 



Persoon, Synop. ii. 329 ; Torrey & Gray, Fl. i. 296 ; Lindley, Fl. Med. 

 244. 



Common Names. — Turkey pea, Goats' rue, Catgut. 



Description. — Roots matted, very long, slender ; stems many, simple, one to two feet 

 high, clothed with a whitish, villous pubescence. Leaves unequally pinnate ; leaflets 

 8 — 14 pairs, linear-oblong or elliptical, obtuse or rather acute, mucronate, silky-villous be- 

 neath, minutely silky pubescent above. Raceme of flowers terminal, oblong, sessile. 

 Calyx very villous, 5-cleft, the segments acuminate, cuspidate, about as long as the tube. 

 Corolla of a dark-yellow colour, tinged with red or purple ; keel petals very broad. Sta- 

 mens diadelphous. Style longitudinally bearded on the inside. Legumes long, somewhat 

 falcate and villous. Seeds many ; compressed. 



It is found in dry, sandy soils, in most parts of the United States, flowering 

 in June and July. Several varieties occur both in the colour of the flowers 

 and in the degree of pubescence of the leaves. It is a very ornamental plant, 

 and well deserving of cultivation. 



Medical Uses. — The roots were used by the Indians as a vermifuge before 

 the settlement of the country by the whites, and are a popular remedy in 

 many parts at the present time. The mode of administration is in a decoc- 

 tion which is said to act powerfully, and to be as effectual as Spigelia ; it has 

 not, as far as can be ascertained, been employed in regular practice, but it 

 deserves a fair trial, as the other species, as noticed above, are possessed of 

 active qualities, especially of a purgative character. 



Robinia. — Linn. 



Calyx small, campanulate, 5-toothed or 5-cleft, 2 upper segments shorter. Stamens 

 diadelphous, caducous. Legume many-seeded, compressed, nearly sessile. Seeds small, 

 compressed. 



A small genus of trees or shrubs, most of which are natives of South Ame- 

 rica. Three are found in the United States. The leaves are unequally pin- 

 nate, with petiolate, stipellate leaflets. The flowers are white or rose-coloured, 

 in pendant, axillary racemes. 



R. pseudacacia, Linn. — Branches virgate, armed with stipular prickles. Racemes 

 loose, drooping, and smooth. Leaflets ovate or oblong-ovate. Legumes smooth. 



Linn., Gen. Fl.,879; Torrey and Gray, i. 294; Mich., Fl. Syl. ii. t. 76. 



Common Names. — Locust tree ; Black Locust ; Yellow Locust. 



Foreign Names. — Robinier, Ft.; Falsa acacia, It.; Uncechte aciacien- 

 baum, Gr. 



Description. — A tree from forty to fifty feet 

 Fig. 123. in height, with a trunk of a foot to two feet in 



diameter, covered with a darkish-coloured rough 

 bark. The branches are numerous, and armed 

 with short, strong spines. The leaves are une- 

 qually pinnate. The leaflets are 4 — 8 pairs, 

 with minute setaceous, partial, stipules, and of 

 a bright green colour. The flowers are pro- 

 duced from the sides of the branches, in long 

 pendulous racemes, of a white colour, and some- 

 what fragrant smell, and are succeeded by com- 

 pressed pods of three or four inches in length, 

 and half an inch in width, containing several 

 hard, reniform seeds. 



. It is found in many parts of the United 



States, but is most common west of the 



