238 



LEGUMINOSjE. CX. ROBINIA. 



falling off early in the autumn, makes it less valuable for orna- 

 mental plantations. The wood when green is of a soft texture, 

 but becomes very hard when dry, of a close grain, and finely 

 veined, and is more valued in America by cabinet-makers than 

 any other native timber whatever. It is as durable as the best 

 white oak, and is esteemed preferable for axletrees of carriages, 

 trenails for ships, and many other mechanical purposes. It has 

 been employed with success in Virginia for ship-building, and 

 found to be far superior to American oak, elm, ash, &c. for that 

 purpose. Posts for rail-fencing made of this tree stand wet and 

 dry in the ground better than any other in common use, almost 

 as well as posts of the swamp-cedar. It makes excellent fuel, 

 and its shade is less injurious to grass than that of most other 

 trees. The leaves afford wholesome food for cattle. A gentle- 

 man in New England sowed several acres of it for that purpose. 

 Being very apt to throw out suckers from the running roots, and 

 as it stolls freely, it seems peculiarly calculated for coppice woods. 

 A locust-tree in New England 40 years old was in 1782 60 feet 

 high and 4 feet 10 inches in girth at 3 feet from the ground. A 

 cubic foot of Acacia in a dry state weighs from 48 to 53 pounds 

 avoirdupoise. If we compare its toughness in an unseasoned 

 condition with that of oak, it will not be more than 8-100 less. 

 Its stiffness is equal to 99-100 of oak, and its strength nearly 

 96-100, but were it properly seasoned, it might possibly be found 

 much superior to oak in strength, toughness, and stiffness. A 

 piece of unseasoned acacia 2 feet 6 inches long, and an inch 

 square in the vertical section, broke when loaded with a weight 

 of 247 pounds avoirdupoise. Its medium cohesive force is about 

 11,500 pounds. (Diet, of Archi.) 



Var. ft, inermis (D. C. prod. 2. p. 261.) spines wanting or 

 nearly obsolete ; leaflets flat. D. C. cat. hort. monsp. 136. R. 

 spectabilis, Dum. Cours. bot. cult. 6. p. 140. 



Var. y, crispa (D. C. 1. c.) spines wanting ; leaflets all or for 

 the most part undulately curled. 



Var. S, mnbracul'ifera (D. C. cat. hort. monsp. 157.) spines 

 wanting ; branches much crowded, smooth ; leaflets ovate. This 

 plant is common in gardens, but has not yet flowered. Robinia 

 inermis, Dum. Cours. 6. p. 140. Commonly called Parasol 

 Acacia. This variety is said to have been raised from the seed 

 of K. pseudacacia, but it is more of a shrub than a tree. 



Var. e, tortuosa (D. C. prod. 2. p. 261.) branches much 

 crowded, and twisted. Tj. H. R. pseudacacia tortuosa, D. C. 

 cat. hort. monsp. 136. Racemes similar to those of R. pseu- 

 dacacia, but are smaller and fewer flowered. 



Bastard Acacia, False Acacia, or American Locust-tree. Fl. 

 May, June. Clt. 1640. Tree 30 to 60 feet. 



2 R. DU'BIA (Fouc. in Desv. journ. bot. 4. p. 204. but not of 

 Poir.) spines very short ; branches, petioles, peduncles, and ca- 

 lyxes furnished with a few glands, rarely clammy ; leaflets ovate ; 

 racemes loose, pendulous ; bracteas concave, caducous, ending 

 each in a long bristle. Ij . H. Said to be a hybrid between JR. 

 pscudacuc/a and JR. viscosa. R. hybrida, Audib. R. ambigua, 

 Poir. suppl. 4. p. 690. and perhaps R. echinata, Mill. diet. no. 

 2. Flowers sweet-scented, pale rose-coloured. The pods, ac- 

 cording to Miller, are thickly beset with short prickles. 



Doubtful, Bastard, or False Acacia. Fl. May, Ju. Tree 60 ft. 



3 R. VISCQSA (Vent. hort. eels. t. 4.) spines very short ; leaflets 

 ovate ; branches and legumes glandular and clammy ; racemes 

 crowded, erect ; bracteas concave, deciduous, each ending in a long 

 bristle; the 3 lower teeth of calyx acuminated. !?.H. Native 

 of North America, on the mountains of Georgia and Carolina, 

 near rivers. Duh. arbr. ed. nov. 2. t. 17. R. glutinosa, Curt, 

 bot. mag. 560. Flowers pale red mixed with white, scentless. 

 Roots creeping. 



Clammy False Acacia. Fl. June, Aug. Clt. 1797. Tree 

 30 to 40 feet. 



4 R. HI'SPIDA (Lin. mant. 101.) spines wanting; leaflets ob- 

 ovate ; branches hispid ; racemes loose, hispid ; the 3 lower 

 teeth of calyx acuminated ; legumes hispid. (j . H. Native of 

 Virginia and Carolina, on high mountains. Mill. fig. t. 244. 

 Curt. bot. mag. 311. R. rosea, Duh. 1. c. t. 18. R. montana, 

 Bartr. voy. 2. p. 128. yEschynomene hispida, Roxb. Flowers 

 large, rose-coloured, shewy, scentless. Perhaps many species 

 are confused under the name of R. hispida. This is one of the 

 most elegant of the species when in flower, it is usually grafted on 

 the common sort, and flowers even when it is about 2 or 3 feet 

 high, which renders it a very valuable plant for ornamental 

 shrubberies, but it requires to be grown in a sheltered situation, 

 otherwise the branches are very liable to be shattered or blown 

 off' by high winds. In young trees grafted above ground, the 

 fracture commonly takes place at the graft, so that a good 

 preventive is to graft on a root, a little below the surface. 

 Grafts in this manner are also much more certain of success. 



Var. ft, nima (D. C. prod. 2. p. 262.) plant hardly a foot 

 high. Native of Carolina, in pine woods. 



Hispid Bastard or Rose Acacia. Fl. May, Sept. Clt. 1743. 

 Shrub 3 to 6 feet. 



5 R. ROSEA (Ell. sketch. 2. p. 213.) spines wanting ; leaflets 

 obovate, alternate ; branches and racemes smoothish. Tj . H. 

 Native of Georgia, in pine woods. R. hispida var. ft rosea, 

 Pursh. fl. sept. amer. 2. p. 488. Flowers large, rose-coloured, 

 scentless. The 3 lower teeth of calyx acuminated. 



Upright Rose or Bastard Acacia. Fl. May, Sept. Sh. 6 feet. 



6 R. MACROFHY'LLA (Schrad. in litt.) spines wanting ; leaflets 

 ovate-roundish ; branches and peduncles glabrous, the 3 lower 

 teeth of calyx acuminated. J? . H. Native of North America. 

 Flowers large, rose-coloured, scentless. R. hispida var. y ma- 

 crophy'lla, D. C. prod. 2. p. 262. 



Long-leaved Rose or Bastard Acacia. Fl. May, June. Shrub 

 C to 10 feet. 



f Trees and shrubs referred to Robinia by authors, which ap- 

 pear not to belong to the genus, and ought to be referred to some 

 other genera ; but they are not so sufficiently known as to enable 

 us to refer them to their proper genera, 



7 R. AMA'RA (Lour. coch. p. 455.) unarmed ; leaves impari- 

 pinnate, usually with 5 pairs of ovate-oblong leaflets, which are 

 white beneath ; racemes long, erect ; pedicels tern ; legume 

 almost terete, acuminated, glabrous. Tj . G. Native of Cochin- 

 china and China. Flowers violaceous. Root very bitter, of a 

 yellowish brown-colour. 



Bitter-rooted Robinia. Shrub 4 feet. 



8 R. GLYCYPHY'LLA (Poir. diet. 6. p. 227.) unarmed ; leaves 

 impari-pinnate, with 6-9 pairs of glabrous, ovate, obtuse, dis- 

 coloured leaflets; stipulas subvdate, stiff; racemes elongated; 

 calyx tubular ; legume linear, compressed, obtuse, stipitate. fj . 

 S. Native of Martinique. Flowers small, white. Perhaps a 

 species of Lonchocarpus, 



Sneet-leaved Robinia. Tree 20 feet ? 



9 R. GUINEE'NSIS (Willd. ex Steucl. D. C. prod. 2. p. 262.) 

 unarmed ; leaves impari-pinnate, with 5-6 pairs of elliptic, mu- 

 cronate, glabrous leaflets ; stipulas linear-subulate ; racemes 5 - 

 6-flowered ; branchlets and calyxes hispid. Tj . S. Native of 

 Guinea. Cy'tisus hispidus, Willd. spec. 3. p. 1121. 



Guinea Robinia. Clt. 1822. Tree 40 feet. 



10 R. LATIFOLIA (Mill. diet. no. 9. but not of Poir,) unarmed ; 

 leaves impari-pinnate, with 6-7 pairs of oblong acuminated leaf- 

 lets, which are shining above, and pale beneath ; racemes elon- 

 gated ; legumes 1-2-seeded, oblong-ovate. Tj . S. Native of 

 Campeachy. Flowers rose-coloured. Perhaps a species of Lon- 

 chocarpus. 



Broad-leaved Robinia. Treo 20 to 30 feet. 



