CHAP. XLJ. LEGUMINA CEJE, ROBIN/^. 609 



Genus XII. 



ROBl'N/^ Lin. The Robima, or Locust Tree. Lin. S_i/st. Diadelphia 



Decandria. 



Identification. Dec. M^m. I,^g., 6. ; Prod., 2. p. 261. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 2o7. 



Synonymcs. Pseudacacia Tourn. Inst., t. 417.; Mcench Meth., 145.; Robinier, Fr.\ Robinie, Gcr. 



Derivation. Named in honour of Jean Robin, a French botanist, once herbalist to Henry IV. of 

 France, author of //jstoVc des Plantes, 12 mo, Paris, 1620; printed with the second edition of 

 Lonicer's History of Plants. His son Vespasian was sub-demonstrator at the Jardin des Plantes 

 in Paris, and was the first person who cultivated the Robin/a Pseud- j^cAcia in Europe. 



Description. Deciduous trees, natives of North America, where one of the 

 species is highly valued for its timber. In Europe, all the species are much 

 prized both for their use and beauty. They are readily propagated by seeds, 

 large truncheons of the stem and branches, cuttings of the roots, or by graft- 

 ing; and they will grow in any soil that is not too wet. Their roots are 

 creeping, and their branches very brittle : they grow rapidly, but are not 

 generally of long duration. Their rapid growth is a property that they 

 have in common with all trees and plants the principal roots of which extend 

 themselves close under the surface; because there the soil is always richest: 

 but the same cause that produces this rapidity at first, occasions the tree to 

 grow slowly afterwards, unless the roots are allowed ample space on every 

 side; since, as they never penetrate deep, they soon exhaust all the soil within 

 their reach. For this reason, also, such trees are objectionable as hedgerow 

 trees, or as scattered groups in arable lands ; their roots proving a serious im- 

 pediment to the plough, and the suckers thrown up by them choking the corn 

 crops. Roots, on the other hand, which penetrate perpendicularly as well as 

 horizontally, belong to more slowly, but more steadily, growing trees, which 

 always attain a larger size in proportion to the extent of ground they occupy. 

 5f l.R. Pseu^'d-yIca^cia Lin. The co??z?wow Robinia, o;- False Acacia. 



Identification. Lin Sp., 1043. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 261. ; Lam. 111., t. 666. f. 1. ; N. Du Ham. 2. t. 16. ; 

 Don's Mill., 2. p. 2o7. 



Synonymes. ^schynomene Pseudac&cia Roxb. ; Pseudacacia odora.ta Mcench Meth., 145. ; Locust 

 Tree, Amer. ; the Bastard Acacia ; Robinier faux Acacia, Acacia blanc, Carouge des Anitricains, 

 Fr. ; gemeine Acacie, or Schotendorn, Ger. 



Derivation. This tree, when first introduced, was supposed to be a species of the Egyptian acacia, 

 (/Icacia vera), from its prickly branches and pinnated leaves, which resembled those of that tree. It 

 was named the locust treeby thelmissionaries, who were some of the first collectors, and who fancied 

 that it was the tree that supported St. John in the wilderness. It is not, however, a native of any 

 other part of the world than North America. The name Carouge, is the French word for carob 

 bean, the locust tree of Spain ; which, being also a native of Syria,' is, probably, the tnie locust 

 o( the NeiuTestament. The German name of Schotendorn is composed of icAo/e, a |)od, or le- 

 gume, and d0)-n, a thorn. 



Engravings. Lam. 111. t. 666. ; N. Du Ham., 2. t. 16. ; our fig. 305. ; and the plate of this species in 

 Volume II. 



Spec. Cltcti'., Si'c. Prickles stipular. Branches twiggy. Racemes of flowers loose 

 and pendulous ; and smooth, as are the legumes. Leaflets ovate. The 

 flowers are white and sweet-scented ; the roots creeping, and their fibres 

 sometimes bearing tubercles. {Dec. Prod., ii. p. 26 L) A native of North 

 America, where it is found from Canada to Carolina. 

 Varieties. The plant varying much in its different native localities, and also 

 having been long cultivated from seeds in Europe, the varieties are nume- 

 rous. Some of those included in the following list appear in our Hortus 

 Britannicus, and in Don's Miller y as species ; while some hybrids, such as R. 

 hybrida and R. intermedia, might also have been considered as varieties, 

 but we have preferred keeping them apart. 



i R. P. 2 fiore hiteo Dumont, 6. p. 140., has the flowers yellow. 

 t It. P. 3 i7iermisDec. Prod., ii. p. 26L, Dec. Cat. Hort. Monsp., 136.— 

 Prickles wanting, or nearly obsolete. Leaflets flat. Plant of free 

 growth, in which respect it differs from R. P. umbracuHfera. 

 T T 2 



