Flowers of Cassia fistula — Neal 
83 
Fig. 2. Flower of Cassia fistula from tree C. A, Front view: a-e, petals; 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, outer, fertile stamens; 
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, inner, sterile, starch-bearing stamens. B, Arrangement of stamens on right side of flower. C, Bud, 
front view: a-e, petals; c, single petal. D, Bud, back view: a'-e', sepals; (l\ single sepal. 
has the shortest filament and (with Nos. 1 
and 3) the smallest anther, and it faces Nos. 4, 
6, 8, and 10. Nos. 4 and 10 are paired and are 
borne on longer filaments than No. 2. Nos. 6 
and 8 are paired and are borne on slightly 
longer filaments than Nos. 4 and 10. All five 
of these stamens yield pollen. 
The five outer stamens, Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 
(Fig. 2, A, B; Fig. 4, E-H), have two-celled, 
compressed, ovoid anthers, each cell opening 
by an interrupted longitudinal cleft. Two of 
these stamens, the upper ones (Nos. 1 and 
3), are paired and have short, twisted fila- 
ments, little longer than the filament of No. 2, 
and small, versatile anthers about the size of 
the anther of No. 2. The other three, lower 
stamens (Nos. 5, 7, 9), are similar to one 
another. They have the longest filaments, 
which curve outward after making a short 
backward bend at the base, and they bear at 
their distant tips anthers tending to be 
slightly smaller than those of Nos. 4, 6, 8, 
and 10; and though they are not basifixed they 
are not versatile, but continue in a line with 
their filaments. All five of these stamens yield 
pollen. 
My description of the 10 stamens does not 
agree entirely with any I have found in bo- 
tanical literature. Taubert (1891: 158) states 
in a summary of subgenera of Cassia that sub- 
