to twenty-four) leaflets, which are ¾ to 1½ inch long, alternate, oblong, rounded at the base, obtuse or rarely acute at the apex, densely silky appressed pubescent beneath, on short pubescent petiolules; rachis densely pubescent, swollen at the base, and forming a conical sheath enclosing the bud.
Flowers polygamous, in pubescent racemes, those with staminate flowers shorter than the others. Calyx pubescent, with subulate lobes. Petals oval-oblong. Ovary glabrous with four ovules. Pod, 4 inches long by 1½ inch broad, glabrous. Seeds, two to four, black, globose, smooth, ¾ inch in diameter.
This tree is rather rare in China, though specimens have been collected in the provinces of Anhwei, Kiangsi, Chekiang, Hupeh, and Szechuan. Near Ichang it grows at 1000 to 2000 feet altitude. The pods, called fei-tsao, after being steeped in water, produce a liquid esteemed for washing the hair and cleansing silk articles.
Plants[1] were raised at Kew from seeds sent by me in 1888; but died in a year or two. Seeds, which could be easily procured from Shanghai, where they are sold in the shops, might be tried in the warmer parts of England and Ireland, as the tree is worth cultivating on account of its beautiful delicate foliage. (A.H.)
GYMNOCLADUS CANADENSIS, Kentucky Coffee Tree
- Gymnocladus canadensis, Lamarck, Encycl. i. 733 (1783); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. ii, 656 (1838).
- Gymnocladus dioicus, Koch, Dendrologie, i. 5 (1869); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. iii. 69, tt. 123, 124 (1892), and Trees N. Amer. 554 (1905).
- Guilandina dioicus, Linnæus, Sp. Pl. 381 (1753).
A tree attaining in America over 100 feet in height and 9 feet in girth. Bark fissured, dark grey, and roughened by small persistent scales. Young shoots covered with short pubescence. Leaves (Plate 125, fig. 4) 1 to 3 feet long, with 5 to 11 pinnæ, which are usually alternate but occasionally sub-opposite, the two or rarely the four lower pinnæ simple, the others composed of six to fourteen alternate pinnate leaflets. Leaflets 2 to 3 inches long, on pubescent stalklets, ovate, rounded at the base, acuminate at the apex, entire and ciliate in margin; under surface with scattered long hairs.
Flowers usually diœcious, the inflorescence of the staminate tree a short racemose corymb, that of the pistillate tree a long raceme. Calyx tomentose, with five narrow oblong lobes. Petals five, tomentose, longer and broader than the calyx-lobes. Ovary pubescent; ovules ten or more.
Pod, 6 to 10 inches long by 1½ to 2 inches broad, minutely pubescent. Seeds,
- ↑ Cf. Nicholson, Garden and Forest, 1889, p. 139.
