410 ROBINIA 



which the .Robinias can be confounded is Sophora japonica, whose 

 unarmed branches and autumnal flowering readily distinguish it. 



R. HISPIDA, Linnceus. ROSE ACACIA. 



( ot. Mag., t. 311.) 



A deciduous, unarmed shrub, 6 to 8 ft. high, of lax, rather gaunt habit, 

 spreading by means of underground suckers, the branches covered with gland- 

 tipped bristles \ in. long. Leaves pinnate, 6 to 10 ins. long ; leaflets seven 

 to seventeen, each i^ to 2-| ins. long, and from f to \\ ins. wide, oval or ovate, 

 with a short bristle-like tfp, very dark green ; stalk liairy. Racemes 2 or 3 

 ins. long, nearly as much wide, carrying five to ten flowers. The flowers are 

 the largest and most showy among Robinias, each about i\ ins. long, with 

 the rounded standard petal as much across, of a lovely deep rose ; calyx 

 \ to f in. long, with long, slender, awl-shaped teeth, and bristly like the 

 flower-stalk. Pod i\ to 2^- ins. long, \ in. wide, thickly covered with gland- 

 tipped bristles. Blossoms in May and June. 



Var. MACROPHYLLA, De Candolle (var. inermis, Carrierej R. macrophylla, 

 Hort.\ Distinguished chiefly by the branches and leaf-stalks being quite 

 free from bristles. The stalks of the racemes and flowers are hairy, but by no 

 means so markedly so as in the type. The flowers are even larger and more 

 brightly coloured, the leaves rounder. 



Native of the south-eastern United States ; introduced in 1743. I n a 

 state of nature it spreads and renews itself by means of sucker-growths 

 extending several feet in a single season, but in cultivation it is usually 

 grafted as a standard on R. Pseudacacia so as to form a low, bushy-headed 

 tree. Undoubtedly one of the loveliest of all trees of that character, it is, 

 unfortunately, very liable to lose its branches during storms, owing to the 

 brittle nature of its wood. For this reason a secluded spot is desirable for 

 it. A remarkable fact in connection with this tree is the rarity with 

 which it produces seed. It has probably never borne pods in this country, 

 and even in a state of nature they are very seldom seen. The pods in the Kew 

 Herbarium are three contributed by the late Mr T. Meehan of Philadelphia, 

 to whom they had been sent in response to inquiries made in a public 

 journal. He himself had made diligent search for seed-pods on the mountains 

 of Tennessee, where the shrub grows in great abundance, but never found 

 any. The defect seems to be in the male part of the flower, and due to the 

 absence of pollen. Still, fertile plants do exist in N. America, and from them 

 no doubt a seed-bearing race could be established. 



R. KELSEYI, Co well. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 8213 ; ? R. Boyntonii, A she.) 



A lax-habited, deciduous shrub or small tree, with smooth, slender branches. 

 Leaves pinnate, 4 to 6 ins. long ; leaflets nine or eleven, oblong to ovate, i to 

 2 ins. long, to % in. wide, pointed, smooth. Flowers brightly rose-coloured, in 

 small clusters at the base of the young twigs^ these clusters are sometimes 

 simple racemes of three to six flowers, but they are frequently forked or 

 triplicate, the stalks always covered with glandular hairs. Each flower is 

 | to i in. long, with a rounded standard petal f in. across ; calyx j in. long, 

 glandular-hairy, teeth narrow, awl-shaped. Pod 2 ins. long, } in. wide, 

 covered with reddish gland-tipped bristles ^ in. long. 



The origin of this beautiful Robinia is not definitely known. It was put 

 into commerce about 1901, by Mr Harlan P. Kelsey } of Boston, U.S.A., who 



