NOTE  ON  CASSIA  MOSCHATA.  81 
Cassia  fistula,  L.,  or  possibly  from  a  different  species.  My 
friend  Mr.  Morson  has  also  observed  some  Cassia-pods  of  un- 
usually small  size  imported  into  the  London  market  from  New 
Granada,  and  which  were  apparently  identical  with  M.  Gui- 
bourt's  drug.    In  some  of  them,  which  he  was  kind  enough  to 
give  me,  I  could  detect  no  differences  which  appeared  sufficient 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  legumes  of  Cassia  Fistula,  L.,  to 
which  plant  I  referred  them,  attributing  their  slight  variation 
to  want  of  culture  or  a  poor  soil,    A  few  months  ago,  however, 
Mr.  Sutton  Hayes,  of  Panama,  (to  whose  kindness  I  am  indebted 
for  many  interesting  communications),  sent  me  several  pods 
marked  Cafiafistola  de  purgar,  which  I  recognized  as  the  small 
variety  of  Cassia  of  Messrs.  Guibourt  and  Morson.    In  reply  to 
my  remark  that  they  were  derived  from  Cassia  Fistula,  L.,  Mr. 
Hayes  observed,  "  I  think  you  are  wrong  as  to  the  tree  which 
produces  the  pods  I  sent  you  being  a  form  of  the  true  C.  Fistula. 
I  have  often  seen  both  trees ;  and  the  true  C.  Fistula  is  much 
less  like  the  Cafiafistola  de  purgar  than  many  other  species  of 
Cassia.    The  flowers  of  C  Fistula,  L.,  are  of  light  yellow  and 
in  very  long  racemes,  and  the  leaflets  are  different  in-  shape  and 
much  larger.    The  flowers  of  the  Canafistola  de  purgar  are  yel- 
low, becoming  brick-red  with  age ;  the  racemes  are  much 
shorter  than  those  of  Cassia  Fistula :  and  the  leaflets  are  alto- 
gether different,  being  much  smaller  and  quite  like  those  of  C. 
brasiliana ;  in  fact,  the  Canafistola  de  purgar  is  much  nearer 
C.  brasiliana  than  it  is  to  C.  Fistula.    The  wood  of  the  tree  ia 
very  dark-colored,  heavy,  and  compact,  and  is  considered  one  of 
the  best  on  the  Isthmus  :  it  makes  excellent  fuel.    The  tree  is 
very  common  in  open  woods  on  hills,  and  is  perfectly  indigen- 
ous ;  whereas  C  Fistula  is  to  be  found  only  about  towns  and  in 
old  cleared  places,  as  if  introduced.    I  have  never  seen  C. 
Fistula  in  the  virgin  forests.    C.  brasiliana  is  very  common 
about  Panama." 
Upon  examining  Mr.  Hayes's  plant  and  comparing  it  with 
the  species  of  Cassia  already  described,  I  have  found  it  to  agree 
with  the  Cassia  moschata  of  Humboldt,  Bonpland,  and  Kunth, 
so  far  as  the  characters  of  that  plant  have  been  recorded  ;  and 
M.  Triana,  who  is  now  engaged  on  the  Flora  of  New  Granada, 
and  has  compared  Mr.  Hayes'  specimens  with  the  type  speci- 
mens in  Paris,  has  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion.    As  the 
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