Bumblebees, buzzing about
the blossoms, may be observed "milking" the anthers just as they
do those of the partridge pea. No red spots on any of these
petals guide the visitors, as in the previous species, however;
for do not the three small, dark stamens, which are reduced to
mere scales, answer every purpose as pathfinders here? The
stigma, turned sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left,
strikes the bee on the side; the senna being what Delpino, the
Italian botanist, calls a pleurotribe flower.
While leaves of certain African and East Indian species of senna
are most valued for their medicinal properties, those of this
plant are largely collected in the Middle and Southern States as
a substitute. Caterpillars of several sulphur butterflies, which
live exclusively on cassia foliage, appear to feel no evil
effects from overdoses.
WILD INDIGO; YELLOW or INDIGO BROOM; HORSEFLY-WEED
(Baptisia tinctoria) Pea family
Flowers - Bright yellow, papilionaceous, about 1/2 in.
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