Cassia javanica var. indochinensis Gagnep.

  • Authors

    Howard S. Irwin, Rupert C. Barneby

  • Authority

    Irwin, Howard S. & Barneby, Rupert C. 1982. The American Cassiinae. A synoptical revision of Leguminosae tribe Cassieae subtrib Cassiinae in the New World. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35, part 1: 1-454.

  • Family

    Caesalpiniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Cassia javanica var. indochinensis Gagnep.

  • Type

    Gagnepain cited 13 collections from Annam, Laos, Cambodia, Siam and Cochinchina, from among which a lectotypus should be selected, presumably at P.— Equated by Brenan, l.c., infra, with C. agnes and represented at NY by Pierre 417 from Cambodia, a presume

  • Synonyms

    Cassia nodosa 'Palmer' Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb., Cassia javanica var. agnes de Wit

  • Description

    Variety Description - We refer to var. indochinensis, which differs consistently from var. javanica only in the smaller stipules and shorter sepals and not in leaflet-shape or in size or color of the petals, almost all C. javanica cultivated in the Americas. The garden stock, occasionally subspontaneous in the vicinity of botanical gardens or about dwellings, is probably derived from more than one introduction, and has very likely been selected for size of flowers which tend to be larger than the average in Indochina. The variety is grown commonly in the West Indies from Cuba to Barbados (from where Brenan cited C. agnes) and we have seen specimens from Belize, Guatemala and Honduras in Central America, from Venezuela (urban), from Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and from several Brazilian cities. It is well established in gardens of subtropical Florida, where known as the Pink Shower (Isely, 1975, map 71) and is a favorite garden and street tree in Hawaii (Degener, New 111. Fl. Hawaiian Is., sine pag., 30.VI. 1932), where the delicately fragrant flowers are woven into leis and the shiny seeds threaded into necklaces.

  • Distribution

    West Indies| Belize Central America| Guatemala Central America| Honduras Central America| Venezuela South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Guyana South America| Brazil South America| United States of America North America|