253 



tapering into long claws ; crenate at the margin. Stamens 10, shorter 

 than petals ; filaments red ; anthers oblong ; 2-celled. Pod woody, 

 about 2 ft. long, 2 to 2£ in. broad, containing up to 45 seeds. Seeds 

 | in. long, colour greyish changing to brown. 



III.— Bot. Mag. t. 2884 ; Rchb. Exot. v. t. 318 ; Nooten, Fl. Java 

 t. 35 ; Cook & Collins, Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. viii. pt. 2, t. 54 (habit). 



Vernac. names. — Tanahon (Madagascar, Bojer). — Flamboyante ; 

 Flame Tree ; Gold Mohur, or Gulmohr Tree. 



Native of Madagascar. 



A very handsome tree, grown throughout the tropics for decorative 

 purposes and as a shade tree ; in Old Calabar it is being largely 

 planted (Report Bot. Gdn. Old Calabar, 1908). The wood is white 

 and soft — 28 lbs. per cubic foot (Gamble, Man. Ind. Timb. p. 270). 



May be propagated by seed and grows freely in good soil. Requires 

 careful pruning to develop a good head. 



Parkinsonia, Linn. 



Parkinsonia aculeata, Linn. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. II. p. 267. 



El. — Linne, Hort. Cliff. 1. 13 ; Lam. Encycl. t. 336 ; Jacq. Icon. Select, 

 Stirp. Am. t. 80 ; Desc. Ant. i. t. 12 ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. (Anal. Gen.) 

 t. 13, f . 2 ; Mart. Fl. Bras. xv. pt. 2, t. 26 ; Sargent, Silva, N. America 

 iii. t. 131 ; Bettfreund, Fl. Argent, i. t. 46 ; Eastwood, Trees 

 California, t. 41 ; Plant. Indig. et Exot, Ic. t, 94. 



Vernac. names. — Saratani (Katagum, DalzieV) ; Retama (California, 

 Eastwood, Sargent). — Horse Bean ; Jerusalem Thorn ; Genet 1 Epineux. 



Native of Trop. America. Naturalized in Africa. 



The young shoots yield a fine white fibre though not very strong ; 

 it has been recommended - with other substances as half stuff for 

 paper-making (Royle, Fibrous PI. India, p. 298). The plant by 

 reason of its strong spines, makes an impenetrable hedge. It is used 

 in Senegal for fencing gardens and cattle enclosures (Guillem. Perr. 

 Rich. Fl. Senegamb. i. p. 257). Planted in Native Towns, Kata- 

 gum (Dalziel, Herb. Kew). See Gaesalpinia pulcherrima for combi- 

 nation as a hedge plant. 



Haematoxylon, Linn. 



Haematoxylon campechianum, Linn. Sp. PI. (1753), p. 384. 



A small, spreading tree, branches crooked, covered with dark, 

 rough bark. Leaves alternate or apparently fasciculate on stunted 

 branches, pinnate, with 4 (rarely 5) pairs of opposite, shortly stalked, 

 obcordate, smooth, uniform leaflets (rarely bipinnate) ; stipules small, 

 membranous, usually caducous, but in wild and stunted trees per- 

 sistent, and forming strong sharp spines. Flowers small, in lax, 

 axillary recemes ; Calyx very deeply divided into 5 broad, rounded 

 segments, the anterior one longer than the others, glabrous, purple. 

 Petals 5, yellow, spreading, obovate-lanceolate, smooth, forming a 

 nearly regular corolla slightly exceeding the calyx segments in length, 

 inserted in the. mouth of the short, cup-shaped tube of the calyx. 

 Pod, membranous, lanceolate, compressed, pointed at both ends, 

 1- or 2-seeded. 



According to Earle the plant is very variable, showing marked 

 difference in form, colour and texture of leaf, time of blooming, form 

 and extent of the ribs on the trunk, colour of bark and especially in 

 the colour of the heartwood. (Journ. New York Bot. Gdn. iv. p. 3), 



