LEGUMINOS^. 95 



mens 5 to 10, free, unequal, spreading, 3 lower ones longest; 

 4 middle ones short and straight; 3 upper ones usually abor- 

 tive. Anthers opening at the apex. Legume terete of 

 Compressed, many-seeded.-^- Trees, shrubs or herbs (herbs in 

 the United States) with simply abrupt -pinnate leaves and 

 mostly yellow flowers. 



1. C. MARILANDICA, L. Wild Senna. 



Stem erect ; leaflets 6 to 9 pairs, ovate-oblong, mucronate, equal ; petiole with a 

 clul>-.shaped gland near the base; stipules deciduous; flowers crowded in short 

 axillary racemes, panicled at the summit of the branches. 



Alluvial soils, along streams; common. July, Aug. Per. Stem 3 to 4 feet 

 high, smooth or slightly pubescent. Leaflets 1 to 2 inches long, % to % wide* 

 Jiacemes in the upper axil<. forming a leafy panicle. Petal* bright-yellow, 3 erect 

 and 2 declined. Legume compressed, linear, hisped, at length smooth. Medicinal. 



2. C. Ch^emACRISTa, L. Partridge Pea. 



Stem erect or decumbent; leaflets in 10 to 15 pairs, linear-oblong, oblique at base, 

 'obtuse, mucronate; gland on the petiole cup-shaped; flowers on slender pedicels, 

 fascicled above the axils of the leaves. 



Sandy places. June — Aug. Annual. Stem a foot or more high, spreading, 

 round, pubescent. Leaflets crowded, J^ to % inch long, smooth, sub-sessile. 

 Flowers large, :', 3 or 4 in each fascicle. Petals bright-yellow, the 2 upper ones 

 with a purple ipot. Stamens 10, elongated, unequal, 4 of them yellow, the others 

 purple. 



3. C. NICTITANS, L. Wild Sensitive Plant. 



Stem erect or decumbent, branched ; leaflets 10 to 20 pairs, oblong-linear, obtuse, 

 mucronate: gland on the petiole cup-shaped, on a slender foot-stalk; racemes 

 lateral above the axils of the leaves, short, few-flowered; stamens 5, nearly equal; 

 Style very short; legume pubescent. 



Sandy banks of streams. June — Aug. Ann. Stem 8 to 12 inches high, slender, 

 a little branching. Leaflets crowded, % to ]/ 2 ' ncn l°ng. Flowers very small, pale- 

 yellow, on short pedicels. The leaves are somewhat sensitive like the Mimosa, 

 closing by night and when touched. 



29. GLEDITSCHIA. Linn. Honey Locust. 



In honor of Gleditsch, a German botanist of the last century. 



Flowers polygamous. Calyx of 3 — 5 spreading sepals-, 

 united at the base. Petals as many as the sepals, and equal- 

 ing them, the 2 lower somewhat united. Stamens 4 — 5, 

 distinct, inserted with the petals on the base of the calyx. 

 Legume flat 1 -many-seeded. Seeds oval, flat. — Trees, with 

 supra-axillary branched spines abi-uptly once on twice-pinnate 

 leaves and inconspicuous green flowers. 



Gr. triacanthes. L. Honey Locust. 



Thorns stout, usually triple or compound ; leaflets lanceolate-oblong or linear- 

 oblong, somewhat serrate ; legume much^elongated, compressed flat, often twisted, 

 many-seeded. 



Rich woods ; cultivated. July. A handsome tree 30—50 feet high, with spines 

 on its branches 2 — 3 iuches long. Foliage bright and elegant. Leaflets about 18, 



