LOCUST, COFFEE-BEAN AND RED-BUD 201 



not hard. Like locust wood it resists decay and is occasionally 

 utilized for fence posts, rails, ties and construction, and rarely 

 for cabinet work. The shortness of the butts and the scattered 

 growth usually render the tree immune from the lumberman. 



The coffee-tree prefers rich soil and occurs sporadically but 

 nowhere in abundance from central New York and western Penn- 

 sylvania through southern Ontario and southern Michigan to the 

 valley of the Minnesota and southward to middle Tennessee and 

 southwestern Arkansas. It penetrates the prairie country along 

 the bottoms of the larger streams in eastern Kansas, Nebraska and 

 Oklahoma. It is frequently planted in parks in the eastern United 

 States and in western Europe. 



The geological history of this tree is unfortunately almost en- 

 tirely unknown. As it occurs at the present time in both Asia and 

 North America it must have been present during the Tertiary in 

 the intervening region, as I have already remarked. This implies 

 its presence in not only the Arctic region but in northwestern North 

 America and very probably in Europe. Its former presence on 

 the last continent has not been definitely proven, however. Sa- 

 porta, many years ago described leaflets and pods from the basal 

 Miocene of France as Gymnodadus macrocarpa, but these are 

 usually regarded as more properly referable to some other legumi- 

 nous genus. Squinabol named a pod from the Ohgocene of Italy 

 Gymnodadus novalensis but this too is of doubtful identity. An 

 undoubted fossil form has been found in North America. This is 

 Gymnodadus casei and it comes from the late Miocene of the "pan- 

 handle" region of Oklahoma. It was much like the modern coffee- 

 tree and is of interest chiefly in showing that at that time the 

 western range of the genus was not as restricted as it is today. 



There are also fossil leaflets that appear to represent a European 

 coffee-tree found in deposits in central France, the Auvergne, of 

 late Miocene age. 



THE JUDAS-TREE (CERCIS) 



Unlike the great majority of leguminous genera the different 

 species of Cercis have simple leaves. These are cordate-orbicular 



