34 JOURNAL OF THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM [vol. hi 



According to Mr. Joseph Hers, secretary of the Lunghai Railroad, 

 to whom we are indebted for much valuable herbarium material from 

 the provinces of Honan and Chihli, the Chinese distinguish three varie- 

 ties of Sophora japonica differing in the color of the wood. In a letter 

 dated December 20, 1919, Mr. Hers gives the following information: 



"Three forms of Sophora are known in Honan, as well as in Chihli: 

 the pai-kuai, or white Sophora; the tow-tsing kuai, or bean-green Sophora; 

 the hei-kuai, or black Sophora. 



*< m 



The white form gives the best wood; a c liao' of white Sophora 

 being worth $7 or $8, while a liao of green costs only $6, and a liao of 

 black not more than $4 or $5; the liao is the Peking unit for the timber 

 trade and represents a log of one foot in diameter, and 7 feet in length. 



"Around Peking the black Sophora is not very common; the natives 

 say that it never reaches a great age and as the wood is not of much value, 

 they never plant it. All the very large and old specimens, for instance 

 those of the Temple of Heaven, are said to be 'white/ In Honan, the 

 black form is more common. 



"The main difference lies in the colour (and quality) of the wood, 

 which is either pure white, or greenish white, or blackish, and in the 

 bark. The bark of the black Sophora is deeply corrugated and of a darker 

 colour, while that of the white is much paler and smoother. 



"The difference in the bark of the white and green forms is not very 

 apparent, but the difference between black and white is so striking that 

 no Chinese, of the carpenters or peasants class, will ever hesitate a minute 

 in saying: this is a black and this is a white Sophora. 



"The Chinese say that there is no difference in the leaves or flowers 

 of the three forms; the leaves of the black form seem however to be shorter, 

 of a darker green above and smooth beneath." 



Genista tenera O. Kuntze, Rev. Gen. i. 190 (1891).— Cytisus tenet 



Jacquin, Icon. PL Rar. I. 15, t. 147 (1780?); Coll. i. 40 (1786).— Linnaeus, 



Syst. Nat. ed. 13 aucta, n. pt. 2, 1115 (1791). — Spartium virgatum Alton, 



Hort. Kew. in. 11 (1789). — Genista gracilis Poiret in Lamarck, Enc. 



M&Ji. Suppl. II 715 (1811).— Genista virgata Link, Enum. Hort. BeroL 

 ii. 223 (1822).— De Candolle, Prodr. n. 149 (1825). 



There can be no doubt that Genista tenera is the correct name of the 

 species generally known as G. virgata Link, as Cytisus tenet Jacquin is 

 the oldest name for it; Jacquin 's name is cited by Aiton as a synonym of 

 his Spartium virgatum and both these names are cited as synonyms of 

 Genista gracilis by Poiret. 



Genista januensis Viviani, Elench. PL Hort. Dinegro, 19 (1802).— 



Genista triangularis Willdenow Sp. PL in. pt. 2, 939 (1803). — Genista 

 scariosa Viviani in Ann. Bot. i. pt. 2, 175 (1804). — Genista triquetra Wald- 

 stein & Kitaibel, PL Rar. Hung. n. 105, t. 153 (1805), non Lamarck (1788). 

 —Genista genuensis Persoon, Syn. n. 287 (1807). — Cytisus triangularis 

 Viviani, Fl. Dalm. in. 268 (1852). 



