Fls perfect, 5-merous; pedicels 2-bracteolate near or above the middle; hypanthium very short; pet yellow, sometimes marked with red near the claw, often unequal, the upper one internal to the adjacent lateral ones; stamens 5 or 10, all with anthers; anthers basifixed, longer than the short filaments, opening by an apical pore or short slit; pods compressed, not segmented, elastically dehiscent, the valves coiling; seeds in our spp. quadrate, faintly marked with shallow pits in rows; lvs evenly once-pinnate, generally with one or more large glands on the petiole or rachis, in our spp. somewhat sensitive to the touch; our spp. herbs. (Often included in Cassia) 250, widespread.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
