=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. [Illustration] =CASSIA GORATENSIS= Fres.—_Rumfu_. _Runhu_. LEGUMINOSAE. This is a small and common tree whose only value, apart from medicinal use by the natives, is ornamental. It is found in clumps as a small tree about 10 feet high, but also singly growing to a height of 20 and even 30 feet. Well-grown examples have a 10-12 feet bole some 3 feet in girth and a spherical crown. In its young state it is apt to be confused with _Cassia occidentalis_, “rai dore,” which latter is a shrubby herb with similar flowers and leaves. =The Bark= is grey, sometimes almost white, with wide fissures and large scales. Old trees may have very dark and rough bark. That of the stout tapering twigs is a light brown with a powdery surface which rubs off in the hand. The slash is dull brown. =The Leaves= are pinnate, 10-12 inches long with about eight pairs of oval leaflets which are bright green and smooth on the upper surface; grey, with the venation raised on the under surface. They are soft in texture and very often blotched or spotted. =The Flowers= are most conspicuous in large, round bunches at the twig ends. They are bright yellow and about 2 inches across, with 5 petals, of which the lower three are much the same size and shape, while the other two are larger, the one spoon-shaped, the other serrate-edged and with marked veining. The sepals are also yellow and saucer-shaped, two of them larger than the other three. Of the 10 stamens, 3 are tall with large anthers, 4 are short with large anthers and 3 are quite small with round, flat anthers. They are grouped accordingly, from back to front as is typical of the genus. They appear in September. =The Fruits= are thin, brown, jointed pods about 4 inches long, straight or curved, hanging in bunches. They contain 15 or 20 small, round, flattish grey seeds and ripen in February. =Uses.=—The pods and leaves, boiled in water, are used for washing and purification after child-birth. The same infusion is taken internally as a cure for fever. [Illustration] =CASSIA SIEBERIANA= DC.—_Malga, Gamma fada_. LEGUMINOSAE. A very common tree with a wide distribution, growing on any kind of soil from rich loam to the driest and most barren sand or clay. It is commonest on wastes swept bare and scoured by rain or in little stony gullies. The form varies with the locality, tall, slender trees growing on good soils and wide-spreading, many stemmed shrubs of great size, or small stunted trees on poor soils. The full-grown tree is some 30 feet high, branching from ground level and forming a hemispherical growth with foliage to the ground.