CASSIA AREREH Del.—Malga, Gamma fada. LEGUMINOSAE.
A small, erect tree from 15-20 feet in height, about a foot in girth, with one or more stems and a high, drooping crown of delicate pinnate leaves. It resembles Cassia Sieberiana only in the shape of the flowers, leaves and pods, and the outstanding differences are the erect form, the perfume and the longitudinally splitting pods. It grows in good soils and not in the barren places where C. Sieberiana abounds.
The Bark is a dull grey, with wavy but not prominent ridges of crisp bark, often rather shaggy when the scales fall in long pieces. The slash is pale brown.
The Leaves are pinnate, about 10-12 inches long with 6-7 pairs of leaflets some 2 inches long and narrowing in proportion to the length towards the top of the leaf. The main rib is very slender and is produced beyond the top pair of leaflets in the form of a slender curve, which frequently replaces one of the final pair of leaflets. The leaflets are smooth, clearly veined and purplish when young.
The Flowers are in racemes some 6-10 inches long, crowded, especially at the tip, with the flowers whose stalks grow to 3 inches in length. The three bracts, one long and a pair shorter are very conspicuous, especially at the crowded tip of the flower stalk where the buds are purplish. The flowers are typical of the genus, with 5 curled sepals, 5 irregular oval petals, 3 long, 4 medium and 3 short stamens, and a long, curved pistil swollen in the middle. The flowers are highly perfumed and appear in February in large masses amongst the new leaves.
The Fruits are pods, 12-20 inches long and an inch thick, cylindrical with irregular constrictions, purplish black in colour, shiny and hard. They persist on the tree for a long time and finally split down one side to release the light brown seeds. The inside of the pod has a yellowish, dry, mealy pulp.
Uses.—The pulp of the pod is used as a laxative.
