PULSE fa:milt. 



lOD 



17. CAS'SIA, L. Sexxa. 



[An ancient name of obscure derivation.] 



Flowers perfect , Sepals 5, scarcely connected. Petals 5, unequal, spread- 

 inof, not papilionaceous. Stamens mostly 10, some of them often imper- 

 fect ; anthers opening at apex. Herbs : leaves equally pinnate, with a 

 gland near the base of the petiole. 



* Leaflets large; stipules deciduous: the lower anthers fertile, the 3 upper 

 ones deformed and sterile. 



1. C. Marilan'dica, L. Perennial ; stem erect, leaflets 6-9 pairs, 

 ovate oblong ; petiole with a club-shaped gland near the base ; racemes 

 axillary, the upper ones somewhat paniculate ; legumes at first hairy* 

 at length smooth. 



Martlaxd Cassia. AVild, or American Senna. 



Sfrf-m 3-4 ff-ot hieh. rath'^r -tout, 'branchirit'. Lmflets 1-2 inches long, petiolulate 

 common p'^i'Aes 1-2 \ri( ]i }^ in 1 -'i-rh h- low th'-- leaflets, with an obovoid subsessile i^Zand 

 on the upper si'ie. liaxenr: ■ • in the upper axils forming a sort of ter- 



minal leafy panicle : /'//v/er ming a dead white. Legumes 3 - 4 inchas 



long, villous whf-n yoijn if. ' , ii t curverl, often sinuate on the edges from 



partial contractions : fc/l; ov,i[ ■ . - jl'. - ^. u-ated by a kind of transverse partitions. 



Low grounds along streams : frcqiient. August -October. 



Obs. This very showy species is found in most parts of the United 

 States ; its leaves po.ssess properties similar to those of the imported 

 Senna of the shops — which is also furnished by several species of the ge- 



FiG. 78. Wild Senna (Cassia 3Iarilandica) , a short raceme in tho axil of an abruptly- 

 pinnate leaf. 



