110 



WEEDS AXD LSEFUL PLA^'TS. 



nus Cassia. While some writers state, that it requires a third larger 



dose than the imported senna, to produce the same eifect. others claim for 

 it an equal rank as a purgative. It is cultivated to considerable extent 

 by the ■• Shakers." and though it has not received the general attention 

 at the hands of the medical profession that it deserves, it is frequently 

 used in domestic and country practice. The leaves should be collected 

 when the fruit is ripe, the active principle being then more fully develop- 

 ed than at the flowering time. * 



2. C. occ'denta'Iis. L. Leaflets 4-6 pairs, ovate lanceolate acute; 

 gland o^'ate : pods elongated-linear, smooth. 



Western Cassia. Styptic Weed. 



Perennial. 5fe7?i 4 - 6 f--T hicli. i-'iT?,--:;.^ se-rrate-ciliolate. i^zfifr? lar re. yellow. Le- 

 gume somewhat coriaceo us, about 5 uiclies L cig. with a tumid border : 20-od-seeded. 

 ^ ear buildings : Virginia to Djuisiana. July- October. 



Ohs. This plant, which i: very common at the South, is believed to be 

 introduced from Tropical America, where it has some medicinal reputa- 

 tion. The root is said to be diuretic, and the leaves are used as a dress- 

 ing to slight sores. * 



Leafiet^i small, somewhat sensitive to the touch : stipules persistent ; petio- 

 lar gland cup-shaped ; anthers all perfect. 



3. C. Cliamsecris'ta, L. Stems spreading : leaflets S - 15 pairs, linear 

 oblong ; flowers large and showy; stamens 10. unequal. 



Partridge Pea. Sensitive Pea. MagothY-bay Bean. 



stem 1-2 feet Wgli. firm and somewhat woody at base, much branched, often purplish. 

 Zea^ef^ half an inci to r. -a'- an ir- :i i ' _-, nvir :t-ly ci'iat--- rr'-.'at-, s ibsessile ; common 

 _p€fic>Zes about one-thir i : ^ - pressed or cup- 



like gland on the upp; : - / - ; . purple spots at 



base), in lateral subsessii- i.L;::L . ax i- tL- 1 a , ^ — it u iu f>airs, some- 

 times 3-4. Legume about 2 inches long, hairy along the sutures. 



Sandy fields : common, especially southward. July -September. 



Ohs. In a paper read before the American Philosophical Society. May 

 2. ITSS. and published in the 3d volume of their Transactions. Dr. Green- 

 way ijf Virainia. speaks favorably of this plant as a means of recruiting 

 w^rn 'Vut lands, by its decomposition in the soil. — though he considers 

 the common corn-field Pea as prt-ferable : and I have no dcmbt that the 

 Eed Clover (TrnoUuni pratens:). properly managed, is more eligible 

 than either. 



18. GYMXO'CLADrS, Lim. Kextl-cky Coffee-tree. 



[i^^reek. Gymnos. naked, and Klados. a branch : in rL-f/rvn::- to its stout naked branches.] 



Flowers dioecious, regular. Ca/?/x tubular, 5-cleft. Pcfo^' 5. eciual. ob- 

 long, inserted on the calyx-tube. Stamens 10. distinct, inserted with the 

 petals. Legume oblong, flat, the valves thick and woody, pulj^y within. 

 A tree with the young branches clumsily thick : havts odd-bipinnate. 



