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Show The Hiflory of P L A N T S. It is a native of North America; we have it in fome of our gardens. Tournefort calls it, Siliquaftrum Canadenfe. B AU HI N I A. T H E calyx is a deciduous pe~ianthium, of an oblong fi~ure! opening longitudinally in it's under part, reclmate on one fide, and 9penmg mto five parts at the bafe the five leaves it is compofed of cohering at their upper part : the corolla confill: s 'of five lanceolated, undulated petals, their tops attenuated and reflex; the lower ones fomewhat the larger, and fl:anding on ungues of the length of the calyx: the fiamina are ten filaments, of which the nine fuperior ones grow together, fo as to fo rm a cylindric body, opening below, and {horter than the corolla; the tenth, w~ich fiands below all the others, is very long : the antherre are oval, and are ofcen wantmg on the nine conjunCt filaments, never in the tenth : the germen is oblong, and ftands on a pedicle : the ftyle is filiform and declinate : the fiigma is obtufe and affu rgent : the fruit is a long, cylindric legumen, having only one cell: the feeds are numerous, round, compreffed, and run longitudinally along the pod. 1. Bauhinia foliis cordatofu6rotundis, /obis rotundatis. The roundijh cordated-leaved Bauhinia, with rounded lobes. The root is large, brachiated, and fpreading. The tree grows to fifteen or twenty feet high, and is very ramofe; the trunk is often eight inches in diameter ; the leaves are an inch and a half long, and about as much in breadth, of a roundi(h figure, but cordated at their top, and the lobes that finuofity divides them into of a roundi{h Egure ; they are of a pale green colour, [oft to the touch, and of a ftrong fmell , when bruifed. The flowers are large, and of a yellowifh colour, and fl:riated . It is a native of both the Eaft and Weft Indies. Burman calls it, Bauhinia folio fubrotuhdo, flare ftavefcente fl:riato; others, Mandaru. The other fpecies are, 1. The purple-flowered, large-leaved Bauhipia, called St Thomas's-tree. 2. The broader and more deeply finuated-leaved, purple-flowered. Bauhinia. 3· The white-flowered Bauhinia, with large leaves. I P A R K I N S 0 N I A. T H E calyx is a deciduous perianthium, formed of a fingle leaf, patent, and divided into five fegments: the coroll,a confifi:s of five petals, nearly equal in fize, placed in a circular direCtion, larger than the cup, and the four upper ones oval, the lower one reniform : ' the fiamina are ten decli.nated filaments : the antherre are oblong : the germen is long, cylindric, and declinate : the fiyle is fcarce vifible; the frigma is obtufe and a!furgent: the fruit is a very long, cylindric legumen, nodofe at the feeds, and acuminated : the feeds are numerous, and are placed one within every protuberance of the legumen. Of this genus there is but one known fpecies. · It is an American, defcribed by Plumier. C A S S I A. T HE calyx is a deciduous perianthium, compofed of five hollow, lax, coloured •leaves .= the corolla confifl:s of five hollow, roundi(b petals; the lower ones larger, and more d1fl:ant than the others: the fiamina are ten declinated filaments; the three lower longer than the reft, the three upper lhoner: the three lower antherre are very large, and a~cuated, terminating in a beak, and opening at the tops; the four lateral on:s open wtthout a .beak~ th~ three upper ones are very fmall, and contain fcarce any fa.nna: .the germen IS cylmdnc, long, and pedunculated: the ftvle is very {hart; the fi1gma 1s obtufe and affurgent : the fruit is an oblong legumen, divided by tranfverfe fepta =. the feeds are numerous, roundHh, and affixed to the upper edges of the valves. Th.1s. genus comprehends the Caffia and Senna of Tournefort, and the Chamrecri{l:a of .R1vmus. In the Caffia of authors the pod is oblong, and the valves, or fepta, entire. In the Sena of authors the pod is gibbous and inflex. { I 1. Caf!ia '1he Hi.ftory of P L A N T S. r. Ca$a folio/is quinque parium lanceolatis inferioribus rotundioribus. 3tbt <!taffia The Caflia, with five pairs of lanceolated pinnce, the lower jfitl:ula:::ttee. ones rounder. This is a large and fpreading tree. It's trunk is covered with a greyifh outer bark and, within that, a reddi(h one. The leaves are pinnated, and very large; the rib on which the pinnre fiand is fifteen inches, or more, in length; the bafe fomewhat tumid, t~e colour gr~en : there are ufually five or fix pairs of the pinnre on each rib ; they are four or five mches long, two and a half broad, and terminate in a point . their bafe is rounded ; they are thick, and of a deep green colour, and have fome generai refemblance to the leaves of our walnut-tree. The flowers are large, and of a beautiful yellow colour ; they fl:and on long pedicles, great numbers together, and each has it's own pedicle befide, two inches long, and very flender; the pods which fucceed thefe flowers are near two feet long, cylindric, woody, and contain, together with the feeds, a black, fweet, pulpy matter, which is the Caffia of the lhops, an excellent mild cathartic. , It is a native of Africa and the Eafi Indies, but it has been long tranfplanted into America, where it thrives, as if it was native there. Bontius calls it, Arbor Caffiam folutivam ferens ; Van Rheede, Canna. 2. Caflia pinnis lanceolatis, fruElu incurvo compreJ!o. 'lbe crooked and compreJ!ed-fruited Caflia, with lanceolated pinnce. The root is brachiated and fpreading. The ihrub grows to five or fix feet high. The trunk is woody and hard; the-branches are long, flender, and tough. The leaves are pinnated, and fl:and alternately; the rib is about an inch long; the pinnre .are four, five, or fix pairs ; there is no odd one at the end ; the pinnre are of a pale whitilh-greent oblong, and of a lanceolated figure. The flowers fiand in long feries, at the tops ot the branches, and are moderately large, and yellow, firiped with reddilh ; the pods are compreffed, and crooked. It is a native of Perfia, and is cultivated in Syria and Arabia, whence the dried leaves are fent to Alexandria, and thence difiributed throughout the world. Authors call it, Sena, Sena ori€ntalis, and Sena foliis acutis. It is in great ufe and repute as a purge. The other fpecies are, 1. The fix-leaved Caffia, with bicapfular pods. 2. The ftinking Caffia, with alated pods. 3· The dwarf Caffia, with pods like frenugreek. 4· The privet-leaved, Virginian Sena. 5· The hairy-podded Caffia. 6. The manypodded Caffia, called occidental Sena, and Chamrecrifia pavonis ; and, 7· The littleflowered, Virginian, ball:ard Sena. P 0 I N C I AN A. T H E calyx is an oblong, lax, hollow, deciduous perianthium, compofed of five leaves, of which the lower one is larger than the rell:, and declinate : the corolla is formed of five petals, and is unequal; the four upper petals are roundilh, and nearly equal ; the fifth is larger, difform, and crenated : the fiamina are ten extremely long, declinated, fetaceous filaments : the antherre are oblong: the germen is fubulated, declinate, and long; it terminates in a fi.yle, of the length of the fiamin a, and the frigma is acuminated : the fruit is an oblong, compreffed legumen, with fepta : the feeds are fingle, and are placed lengthwife in the pod. Thefe characters fuffi.cien tly difl:inguilh it, without a farther defcription. C lE SALPINIA. T HE R E is no calyx: the corolla is of the ringent kind, formed of a lingle petal ! the tube is ventricofe and fubglobofe : the limb is divided into four parts, of which the upper fegment is twice as large as the refi, concave, patent, and undi- 5 0 vided |
