650 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
Sect. V. Cassir‘x. 
Grnus XX. 
File 
GLEDI'TSCHI/A L. Tue Grepirscuia. Lin. Syst. Polygamia Dice‘cia. 
Identification. Lin. Gen., 1159.; Lam. Ill, p. 857. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 479. ; Don’s Mill, 2, p. 428. 
Synonymes. Acacia sp. Pluk. ; Févier ; Fr., Gleditschie, Ger. 
Derivation. 1n honour of Gottlieb Gleditsch, of Leipsic, once a professor at Berlin, and defender of 
Linneus against Siegesbeck ; author of Methodus Fungorum (1753), Systema Plantarum a Staminum 
situ (1764), and many other smaller works. 
Description. Deciduous trees. DBranchlets supra-axillary, and often con- 
verted into branched spines. Leaves abruptly pinnate; in the same species 
pinnate, bipinnate, or, rarely, by the coalition of the leaflets, almost simple. 
Flowers greenish, in spikes. Among the ovaries, it often happens, especially 
among those of the terminal flowers, that two grow together by their seed- 
bearing suture, which is rather villose. (Dec. Prod., ii. p.479.) Deciduous 
trees of the Ist, 2d, and 3d ranks, natives of North America or China, of 
easy culture in good free soil ; and, in Britain, generally propagated by imported 
seeds, or grafting. The species appear to be in a state of great confusion 
in British gardens ; and, judging from the trees in the garden of the London 
Horticultural Society, and in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, we should 
conjecture that there is, probably, not more than two species, the American, 
and the Chinese; possibly only one. The Chinese species is distinguished 
by its trunk being more spiny than its branches. { 
¥ 1.G. rriaca’NTHOs Lin. The three-thorned Gleditschia, or Honey Locust. 
Identification. Lin. Sp., 1509. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 479.; Don’s Mill., 2. p. 428, 
Synonymes. G. triacanthos var. « polysperma Mart. Mill.; G.meliloba Walt.; G. spinosa Du 
Ham.; Acacia triacinthos Hort.; Acacia americana Pluk,; Févier d’Amérique, Fr.; Thorny 
Acacia, Sweet Locust, United States ; Carouge & Miel, Canada. 
Engravings. N. Du Ham., 4. 1. 25,; Michx. Fil. Arb., 2. p. 164. t,10.; Hort. Ang.,t.21.; Wats, 
end, Brit., t.158.; Pluk. Mant., t. 352. f. 2. ; and the plates of this species in our Second Volume, 
Spec. Char., Sc. Spines simple or trifid ; stout, at the very base compressed, 
in the upper part cylindrical, but tapered. Leaflets linear-oblong. Le- 
gumes flattish, rather crooked, many-seeded, and more than ten times as 
long as broad. (Dec. Prod., ii. p.479.) A tree of from 50 ft. to 80 ft. high, 
a native of Carolina and Virginia. Introduced in 1700; flowering in June 
and July. 
# G. t. 2 inérmis Dec., G. levis Hort., (Dec. Lég. Mém., 2. t. 22. fig. 109.; 
Cates. Carol., 1. t. 43.; Pluk. Alm., t. 123. fig. 3.; and the plates of 
this variety in our Second Volume) has the stem and branches not 
spiny, or but very sparingly so. ; 
Description. The three-thorned gleditschia, or honey locust, in favourable 
situations in its native country, attains the height of 70 ft. or 80ft., with a 
trunk 3 ft. or 4 ft. in diameter ; and clear of branches to the height of 30 ft. 
or 40 ft, In Britain, there are specimens of about 70 ft. in height. The 
bark of the trunk and branches is of a grey colour; and of the shoots and 
spines, when young, of a purplish brown. When the tree attains some age, 
the bark of the trunk detaches itself laterally, in plates of 3 in, or 4in, in 
width, and 2 or 3 lines in thickness. The trunk and branches, when the tree 
is young, are covered with large prickles, which, though they are not ligneous, 
become hard, and remain on for several years, and offer a formidable de- 
fence. These prickles are not only produced by the young wood, but occa- 
sionally protrude themselves from the trunk, even when the tree is of con- 
siderable bulk and age. In general, the trunk presents a twisted appearance, 
and the branches proceed from it rather horizontally than in an upright 
direction. The pinnated foliage is particularly elegant, and of an agreeable 
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