PERKINS — THE LEGUMINOSAE OF PORTO RICO. 165 



23. POINCIANA I. 



Poineiana I.. Sp. PI. 1: 380. L753. 

 Painda Neck. Elem. 2: 1 19. L790. 

 Delonw Rap. Sylva Tellur. 2: 92. L836. 



Calyx with a very shorl turbinate receptacle, sometimes with almost non< 

 menta 5, Dearly equal, valvate in estivation; petals 5, round, imbricate, nearly equal, 

 or the posterior one differenl From the others; stamens L0, free, deflexed; filaments 

 slightly villous al the base, toward the top inflexed; c\ ary sessile, free, multiovulate; 

 style filiform, Btigma terminal, ciliolate, bul Blightly dilated; legume coriaceous, 

 elongated, compressed, obliquely veined, 2-valved, with tissue between the seeds; 

 seeds compressed, ellipsoidal or oblong, i ransA ersely disposed, albuminous. Unarmed 

 trees: leaves bipinnate; leaflets small, numerous; stipules obscure; flowers hand- 

 some, orange or Bcarlet . corymbose a1 the ends of i he branches; bracts small, caducous; 

 bracteoles wanting. 



( 1. Poinciana regia Boj.; I look." 



(Urban. 278.) 



Tree 15 to 20 meters high; leave- 20 to 40 cm. 1 < > n lt . pinnae 8 to 20-jugate, multi- 

 foliolate; leaflets oblong, 7 mm. long, 3 mm. wide, blunt at each extremity, upon 

 very short petioles; flowers scarlet; calyx 2.5 cm. long; petals 5.o cm. long, the claw 

 2 cm. long, the lamina orbicular, 3.5 cm. in diameter; vexillum white with a pinkish 

 lint: legume L2 to 37 cm. long, 3 to 4.5 cm. wide. 



Cultivated and seemingly wild in Fajardo on the public squares; in Cabo Rojo, in 

 the market place; near Mayaguez.- Bahama, Haiti, St. Thomas, St. Croix. Guade- 

 loupe (Duss), Martinique, Margarita. Native of Madagascar, but cultivated on 

 account of its beauty on the east and west coasts of Africa, in India, and in other 

 parts of the Tropics. 



This magnificent tree, with its bright scarlet flowers and fern-like leaves, is the 

 handsomest of the Caesalpinioideae. Wood white, light, soft, and loose-grained; 

 takes a fine polish. 



Local names, Jlamboydn, Jlamboydn Colorado. 



24. CAESALPINIA L. 



Caesalpinia L. Sp. PI. 1: 380. 1753. 



Calyx with short or very short receptacle; segments 5, imbricate, the lowennosl 

 one concave or boat-shaped and usually larger than the others; petals 5, orbicular, 

 sometimes oblong, spreading, strongly imbricate, subequal or the uppermost one 

 smaller; stamens 10, free, deflexed; filaments usually villous or glandular at the 

 base; ovary sessile, tree, the ovules few; Btyle terete, often filiform, sometimes 

 clavate at the top; stigma terminal, truncate or concave; legume ovoid, oblong, 

 lanceolate or falcate, compressed, sometimes with thickened suture-, coriaceous, 

 flat or turgid, sometimes 2-valved, sometimes indehiscent ot later slightly 2-valved, 

 often pulpy between the seeds; Beeds tranvsers< . ovoid or globose, exalbuminous or 

 albuminous in C. pulcherrima).- Trees or often high-climbing shrubs, unarmed or 

 with scattered prickles; leaves bipinnate; leaflets small and numerous or large and 

 few, membranous or coriaceous; stipules various; flowers yellow or red, "den hand- 

 some, in lax simple or panicled racemes, axillary or on the ends of the branches. 

 Bracts wanting. 



" For illustration see Cook and Collins, pi. 54, facing p. 223. 



