Cassia.\ 
XL1II. LEGUMINOSiE. 
463 
Petals deep yellow, above 4 lines long. Anthers 2 or 3 rather larger than the 
others. Pod stipitate, flat and glabrous, either nearly orbicular and 1 -seeded, or 
2-seeded and about Jin. long and 4 lines broad. 
Hab.: Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, R. Brown (Herb. R. Br.) 
Section V. Absus. — Sepals usually obtuse. Stamens 5 to 10, all perfect and 
similar, the anthers opening in slits either short and terminal or extending down 
the sides of the cells. Pod flat, oblique and obliquely acute. Seeds lying 
vertically in the pod. Herbs or (in species not Australian) shrubs, often 
glandular-pubescent. Flowers in simple terminal racemes, becoming sometimes 
lateral by the elongation of the branch. 
24. C. Absus (supposed to be after a river of that name in Palestine), 
Linn. ; Vog. Syn. Cass. 50 ; Bentli. FI. Austr. ii. 290. “ Chichm ” or 
“Cismatan.” A viseidly pubescent much-branched annual or biennial, rarely 
exceeding 1ft. Leaflets 2 pairs, obliquely and broadly obovate, obtuse, J to lin. 
long or rarely more, the common petiole rather long and slender ; glands small 
between the leaflets of the lowest or of both pairs. Stipules narrow. Flowers 
small, in short terminal or at length lateral racemes. Bracts small, reflexed. 
Sepals narrow, obtuse, pubescent, about 3 lines long. Petals scarcely longer. 
Stamens usually 5. Style dilated at the end, with a rather broad fringed stigma. 
Pod 1 to ljin. long and about Jin. broad. Seeds with very little albumen. — 
F. v. M. Fragm. iii. 50. 
Hab.: Islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, R. Brown ; Bustard Bay, Banks and Solander ; Port 
Denison, Fitzalan ; Bowen River, Bowman; Walsh River, T. Barclay -Millar ; Gladstone, 
C. Hedley. 
The species is common in tropical Asia and Africa. 
Section VI. Chaieeckista. — Sepals obtuse or acute. Stamens 5 to 10, all 
perfect ; anthers opening in slits either short and terminal or extending more or 
less down the sides of the cells. Pod linear, flat, straight or falcate. Seeds 
lying vertically in the pod. Herbs or undershrubs. Peduncles axillary, 
1 -flowered, solitary or 2 or 3 together. 
25. C. pumila (small), Lam.; Voy. Syn. Cass. 65 ; Bentli. FI. Austr. ii. 290. 
A diffuse, more or less pubescent perennial of short duration, wflth a hard almost 
woody base, the stems rarely exceeding 1ft. Leaflets much fewer than in C. 
mimosoides, in the Australian specimens usually 8 to 12 pairs, linear-falcate, 2 to 
3 lines long ; gland stipitate on the petiole below the lowest pair. Pedicels 
axillary, solitary, shorter than the leaves, with minute bracteoles above the 
middle. Sepals rather obtuse, about 2 lines long. Petals scarcely exceeding the 
sepals. Stamens 5, nearly equal, obtuse. Style short, slightly thickened at 
the end, with a broadly peltate stigma. Pod narrow, 1 to ljin. long, oblique 
or slightly curved. 
Hab.: Port Curtis, M'Gillivray ; Bowen River, Bowman. 
Pedicels longer than in the Indian specimens, but the style and other essential characters are 
quite the same. — Bentli. 
26. C. concinna (neat), Bentli. FI. Austr. ii. 291. A diffuse perennial, 
woody at the base, more or less pubescent, with the habit of C. pumila, but at 
once known by the much larger flowers and by the style. Leaflets 8 to 10 or 
rarely 12 to 15 pairs, rather crowded, linear-falcate, mucronate, 2 to 3 lines long; 
gland stipitate below the lowest pair. Peduncles 1 -flowered, solitary, usually 
longer than the leaves, with minute bracteoles at or above the middle. Sepals 3 
lines long, obtuse or minutely mucronate. Petals nearly twice as long. Stamens 
