114 Leguminosae. 
The seeds when eaten act as a strong laxative whether pre- 
viously soaked or roasted. Owing to their highly indigestible char- 
acter, the beans kill stock, the indigestible portion forming lumps in 
the stomach, on account of which the stock owners of Australia have 
waged war against this tree. 
The wood of the Black Bean resembles walnut, to which it is 
scarcely inferior. It is often very beautiful in its markings and pol- 
ishes readily, moreover, it is quite durable and will last any number 
of years underground. 
In its native habitat the tree often reaches a height of sixty to 
seventy feet with a trunk of two to three feet in diameter. In Hono- 
lulu the writer knows of only one tree, planted by Dr. W. Hille- 
brand in his grounds on Nuuanu Avenue, where it flowers and fruits 
every year. The tree can be propagated from seed, and as it is an 
object of beauty should be freely planted. 
Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. 
Sesran. 
The Sesban is rather a small tree, rarely attaining a height of 
over twenty feet, and is not at all well established in Honolulu. It 
is a short-lived tree with very soft wood, bearing large, edible, white 
flowers and long sickle-shaped pods. The leaves are long and nar- 
row, with twenty to forty pairs of oblong, pale green leaflets. It is 
now in cultivation in many tropical countries and is distributed from 
India to Mauritius, Malay and Australia. It yields a gum of a 
garnet red color which becomes nearly black when exposed to the 
air, and is very astringent. The bark, of which the inner portion 
yields a good fibre, is also astringent and has been employed in in- 
fusions in the first stages of small-pox and other eruptive fevers. In 
India the juice of the leaves and flowers forms a popular remedy 
for headache and nasal catarrh ; it is blown into the nostrils and 
produces a copious discharge of fluid which relieves the painful pres- 
sure. The same juice is also squeezed into the eye to cure dimness 
of vision. The leaves and flowers as well as pods are eaten by the 
poorer natives of India in curries and as a vegetable. They are 
strongly laxative when taken too freely. A variety with red flowers 
is also under cultivation but less common. It is known botanically 
as var. cocci nea. 
Sesbania sesban (L. ) Merrill, the Egyptian rattle pod, a cosmo- 
politan of the tropics, is also met with in Honolulu and vicinity. It 
has small yellowish purple flowers, and long, very thin, terete pods 
