Buckeyes. 255 



1008. THE SWEET OR BIG BUCKEYE (Genius flavu). This oc- 

 curs in the Western States and on the mountains in the Southern 

 States, as a tree from GO to 80 feet in height, and 3 to 4 feet in di- 

 ameter. Upon the lowlands in the south it is a shrub from 3 to 6 

 feet high. It prefers the banks of rivers, and is an indication of a 

 rich soil. The seeds are larger than those of the common horse- 

 chestnut. 



1009. THE SMALL BUCKEYE (J->nlu* jxtvia). This is a shrub 

 from 3 to 10 feet high, found growing in fertile valleys from Vir- 

 ginia southward to Georgia, and westward to Arkansas. It some- 

 times grows to a small tree. The root is used as a substitute for 

 soap. 



1010. The ^trnltix ]nti-rijli>r<i is a .-mall shrub found in South 

 Carolina and Georgia, from 2 to 4 feet high, with a fruit said to be 

 edible. 



1011. Tin: ('AIFOKNIA I)r< KI.YI. .!:., this Callfornica). This is 

 a shrub seldom growing more th:in twenty feet high, or more than 

 a foot iu diameter. It puts forth flowers in >;i<ve~ivr crops during 

 most of the spring and summer, and for this reas n m.iv be desir- 

 able for ornamental planting, although of no account as a timber- 

 tree, as its wood is soft and brittle. It occurs from San LuisObispo 

 to Mcndocino Co. and Mt. Shasta, and on the foot-hills of the Sierra 

 Nevada Mountains. 



1012. THE TEXAS BUCKEYE (Ungnadia speciosa). This occurs 

 in Texas, where it forms a small shrub or tree, with brittle wood, 

 alternate and unequally pinnate leaves, and showy rose-colored blos- 

 soms. The seeds are sweet-tasted like the walnuts, but arc said to 

 possess emetic properties. It somewhat resembles the hickories in 

 its leaves, but more the horse-chestnut in its fruit. 



1013. THE SOAPBERRY (Sapindus taponarw). This is a small 

 tree, growing upon the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, from 

 20 to 50 feet in height. It derives its name from the soap-like 

 properties of the fruit, which, when pounded up, forms a lather 

 with soft water, "and may be used instead of soap. When bruised 

 and thrown into water, the fruit will intoxicate fish. This tree be- 

 longs to the same family as the buckeyes. There are one or two 

 other species in the southwest. There are about forty species of the 

 Sapindus known, chiefly found in the tropical and sub-tropical cli- 

 mates, in which alone it can be cultivated with success. 



