Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

tree (United States, English) ; cassia-stick-tree southwestern Puerto Rico and elsewhere planted
(.Jamaica) ; Indian laburnum, purging cassia and locally naturalized. It llas reddish or ur-
(Trinidad) ; case (Haiti) ; citn6fice, canhficier, plish flowers and leaves less than 12 inches f ong
casse-habitant (Guadeloupe) . with 14-40 oblong leaflets usually less than 2 inches
Cafinfistuln cimarr6na or pinksllo~ver cassia long. Several native species of this genus are
(Cassia grandis L. f.) is a related tree species of shrubs or herbs.
LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMMOSAE)
CASSIA SUBFAMILY (CAESALPINIOIDEAE; CAESALPINIACEAE)
73. Casia rosada, pink cassia Cassia javanica L.*
This cultivated ornamental and shacle tree differs
fro111 related species, sricll as cniiafistula, in
having u spreacling arched crov-n and clusters of
11e:tutiful li~rge fragrant flowers, bright pink instead
of yellow. The leaves are even pinnate,
mostly 8-15 inclles long, with usually 16-20 (someti~~~es
as few ns 10 or up to 30) paired oblong leaflets
1%-2?4 inclles long nnd 96-1 inch broad. The
very long, slencler, cylindrical, dark brown pods
are 16420 inches long and .5/s inch in diameter and
do not split open.
h meclium-sized, generally deciduous, tree 40
feet or Inore in height and 1 foot or more in trunk
diameter, the trunk occi~~ionally with a few stout,
tltil-k gray, spine-tipped briinchcs 2-4 inches long,
ancl 1~1th wiclespread crown of thin foliage. The
pray bark is smoothish and thin, with many thin
fissures. Inner ba~k is light brown and slightly
hitter. The long sl~ghtly drooping twigs are green
iind 1nin11te1-y hairy.
The leaves are alternate, commonly spreading in
2 rows. The leitflets :Ire regularly arranged on
short stalks 1/,6 incll long, nearly equal in size,
mostly in pairs itlong the slender, green, finely
Iiitiry itsis. Lei~flet blitdes :Ire short-pointed or
rounded at tipex, :tnd thin minutely and inconspicuously
hairy on both sides, dull green above and
gray green beneath.
Plower clusters (panicles) are lateral, 5-9 inches
long and broad, containing many large rosescented
flowers about 2 inches across, eilch on a
long, slender, dark red, finely llniry stalk 1-11/2
inches long and slightly curved upward. There
we 5 concave, pointed, dark red, finely hairy sepals
1/4 inch long, greenish tinged inside; 5 spreading
oblong pink petals 1-1% inches long, short-stalked
at base and rounded at apex, minutely hai
reddish veins but the color of petals fa 7, lng to
\vhitisl~ with age; 10 yellolv stamens, 3 about 1%
inches long and with a swelling beyond middle,
i~n