ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM.
Th e leaves are bipinnate, and tho leaflets are elliptic obtuse, notched on tlie
edges, smooth, shining, and much larger than those o f any o th e r species.
{Desf. Arb., ii. p. 248.) The pods are rarely above 6 in. long. T h e tre e
stands the cold b e tte r than th e honey locust, and has ripened its fruit in Paris,
in th e Jard in des Plantes, and in th e nursery of M. Cels. {Diet, des Eaux et
des Forêts, vol. ii. p. 150.)
¥ 4. G. (s .) m a c r a o a ' n t i i a Desf. T h e long-spined Gleditschia.
Identification. Desf. Arb., 2. p . 24(ì. ; D o n ’s Mill., 2. p. 428.
SyHouymcs. G. fè ro x B a u d r . ; F év ie r à grosses E 'p in e s , Fr.
E n g ra v in g . T h o pla te o f this species in Arb. B rit., 1st e d it., vol. v.
Spec. Char., 4 c . Prickles strong, branchy, numerous. Leaflets lanceolate,
somewhat rigid, notched, den ta ted . P o d s elongated. {Desf. Arb.) A
middle-sized tree, with a prickly tru n k . Chma ?. Height 40 ft. to SO ft.
Flowers greenish ; Ju n e and Ju ly
Th e prickles are axillary and large. The leaves are twice winged; th e
leaflets large, coriaceous, dark green, and shining on th e upper surface. The
young shoots are covered with extremely short hairs, and are o f a purplish
browii colour. Ou th e whole, it bears a close resemblance to G. sinénsis, of
which it is, probably, only a variety. I t is very hardy ; and Desfontaines says
th a t it fruits freely in F ran c e . T h e fruit ripens in th e autumn ; and th e pods
are long, pendulous, swelled, and ra th e r cylindrical. They are filled with a
sharp acrid pulji, somewhat resembling th a t of tamarinds, b u t th e emanations
from which, when inhaled, occasion sneezing.
¥ 5. G. ( s .) f e ' k o x Derf. T h e {eroaous-prictc/ed Gleditschia.
Id e n lfic a tio n . Dost. Arb ;, 2. p. 247. ; D o n 's Mill,, 2. p. 423.
S ynonymes. G. o rien tà lis Bosc: F év ie r h érissé , F r.
Engraving. OurJ!¿^ . in p.
Spec. Char., 4c. Prickles large, robust, much compressed, trifid. Leaflets
lanceolate, notched. {Desf. Arb.)
A middle-sized branching deciduous tree, th e tn in k of which is thickly beset
with strong branchy prickles, and which is supposed to grow from 30 ft. to
50 ft. in h e ig lit; b u t o f which the native country, and year o f introduction
)wn. Judging from th e plants in the in to Britain, are unknown.___ ^ ^ H o rt. Soc. Garden,
and those in th e arboretum o f Messrs. Loddiges, we should say it was only
a variety o f G. sinénsis ; though Desfontaines states th e foliage and habit of
growth to he somewhat diflerent. I t has n o t ye t flowered in Europe.
¥ 6 . G. c a ' s p i c a Desf. The Caspian Gleditschia.
Identification. Desf. Arb ., 2. p. 247. ; Don’s Mill., 2. p. 428..
Eni S ynonifme. G.'' ca ispià)
sp ià n a Bosc. • -
O u ry ^ ^ 4Ì7.
Spec. Char., 4c . Prickles slender, trifid, compressed.
Leaflets elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse. {Desf. Arb.) A
middle-sized tree Persia, and found also near th e Caspian
Sea. HeightSO ft. to 40 ft. In tro d u ced in 1822.
Nothing is known c f its flowers and fruit ; b u t it
strongly resembles G. sinensis (o f which it is, probably,
only a variety) in its leaves, general appearance, and
habit.
Variety.
¥ G. c. 2 subviré.cens H o rt., F év ie r verdâtre, Fr., is mentioned in th e
Bon Jardinier for 1836, as a variety o f this species.
4 1 7 . Ü . c âsp ic a.
other Sorts o f Gleditschia.— Every modification o f th e species o f this genus
is so interesting, both in point o f the elegance o f its foliage, and th e singularity
o f its (irickles, th a t new varieties have been eagerly sought after by cultivators ;
and th e genus seems particularly favourable to this desire, from th e tendency
of seedling plants to sport. Hence th e re a re several names in collections, of
XXV. EEGUMINA CEA GYMNO'CLADUS. 255
which it is difficult to say any thing satisfactory in th e present young and immature
state o f th e plants. In the H o rt. Soc. Garden, the re were in 1837
G. micracantha, G. Bòqui, and G. prafcox ; and in Messrs. Loddiges’s arbotj/
7 -J J . . — — . J ,. .....o.. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 LJ« O Cl I l/C>**
rxno ix lo n l-o « v s __________ 1*1 • i .> i
rettim were plants marked G. aquàtica, which are evidently th e same as G.
monospénna, G. orientàlis, evviiddeennttllyy G. f. èrox, G. chinénsis (already mentioned) ;
and some young plants without names.
G e n u s XXI.
GYMNO'CLADUS ham. T h e G y m n ó c l a d u s .
Decandria.
Lin. Syst. Dioe'c
Identification.
Lam . D ie t., 1, p. 733. ; 111., t. 823. ; Dec. P ro d ., 2. p. 479.
Derivation.^ F Fvora i ...............................................gunmos, naked, and / dados, a b ra n ch ,; from tho naked appearance of th l ...
e branches
during w in ter, when th ey seem, unless perhaps a t tiie points of th e shoots, to ta lly devoid of buds.
Gen. Char. Flowers dioecious from abortion. Calyx tubular, S-cleft. Petals
5, equal, oblong, exserted from th e tube, Stamens 10, enclosed. Legume
oblong, thick, filled with pulp inside. (Don's Milt.)
Leaves compound, alternate, stipulate, d e c id u o u s ; bi[)innate. Flowers
in termiual racemes, white.'— A tree, deciduous, with upright Branches and
inconspicuous buds ; native o f North America.
¥ 1. G. c a n a d e ' n s i s Lah T h e Canada Gymnócladus, or Kentucky
Coffee Tree.
IdenUflcation. L-mi. D ie t., I. p. 733., an d 111., t. 823. : Michx. F i. B or. Am er., 2. p. 241. : Dec
Prod., 2. p. 480. ; D o n ’s Mill., 2. p. 429.
Synonymes. G u ilan d in a d io ica L in . Sp. 5 4 6 .; H y p e ra n th ô ra dioica Vahl Sytnb. 1. p Z \.,l)uU
Arb. \. t. 103. ; Nicke r T re e , Stump T re e, U nited S ta te s ; Bonduc, Chiquier, Fr.-, Chicot, Canadian
; Canadischer Schusserbaum, Ger.
Engravings, Reich. Mag., t. 4 0 .; D u h . Arb., t. 103.; o u r p lates o f th is tre e in A rb . B rit., 1st ed it.,
vol. V . ; an d o u r Jig. 418.
spec. Char., 4c. Bl anches blunt a t th e tip, bipinnate leaves, flowers in ra cemes,
and whitish petals. The le a f has 4— 7 pinnre; th e lower o f which
consist each o f but a single leaflet, th e re st each o f 6—8 pairs o f leaflets.
{Dee Prod.) A singular tree. Canada. Height 3 0 ft. to 60 ft. Introduced
in 1748. Flowers white; May to July. Decaying leave.s yellow. Naked
young wood o f a mealy white, without any appearance of buds.
The branches have almost always an upright d ire c tio n ; and th e appearance
of the head, in th e winter season, is remarkable, from being fastigiate, and from
the points o f th e branches being few, and thick and blunt, as compared with
those o f almost every oth e r tree. They are also wholly without th e appearance
o f buds ; and this la tte r circumstance, connected with th e former,
gives th e tree, during winter, th e appearance o f being dead ; and hence the
Canadian name o f chicot, or stump tree. The leaves, on young thriving trees,
are 3 ft. long, and 20 in. w id e ; but, on trees nearly full grown, they are not
half th a t size. The leaflets are o f a dull bluish green, and th e branches of
the petioles are somewhat o f a violet colour. I t is very hardy, and flowers
freely in the neighbourhood o f London, hut docs not produce pods. The
wood is hard, compact, strong, tough, and o f a fine rose colour. In America,
it is used both in cabinet-making and carpentry, and, like the wood o f th e
robinia, it has th e remarkable property o f rapidly converting its sap-wood into
heart-wood; so th a t a tru n k 6 in. in diameter has not more th an six lines of
sap-wood, and may, consequently, be almost entirely employed for useful p u rposes.
T h e seeds were, a t one time, roasted and ground as a substitute for
coffee in K entucky and Tennessee; but th e ir use. in this way has been long
since discontinued. T h e pods, preserved like those o f th e tamarind (to which
I ill