196 ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA. 
bramble ; but do not proceed from the wood, like the spines of the hawthorn, 
cockspur, and other thorns. The branches have a general tendency upwards 
when the tree is young, but as it grows old, they partake more of a horizontal 
direction; and like the trunk, become somewhat contorted. The foliage is 
light and agreeable to the eye, each leaf being composed of opposite leaflets, 
eight, ten, or twelve, and sometimes more in number, surmounted by an odd 
one. The leaflets are nearly sessile, oval, thin, with a texture so fine and a sur- 
face so smooth, that the dust which falls on them will scarcely adhere ; which 
last circumstance renders this tree particularly eligible for planting along road- 
sides, in the neighbourhood of cities and towns, or in great thoroughfares. The 
flowers, which open in March, at St. Mary's, in Georgia, and two months later 
in Pennsylvania, sometimes appear at the former place late in autumn. They 
are disposed in pendulous bunches, from three to five inches long, perfectly white, 
and sometimes yellowish, and diffuse an agreeable odour. They are succeeded 
by narrow, flat pods, from two to three inches long, and about half of an inch 
wide ; each of which contains five or six small, brown, or black seeds, that ripen 
in the middle and northern states in the month of October. 
Varieties. We are inclined to believe that there are but two forms of the 
Robinia indigenous to North America, that may be regarded as distinct, and that 
the several varieties or races commonly treated as species, are the result of soil, 
climate, or cross fecundation. For, the common locust varies much in its differ- 
ent native localities, and also has long been cultivated from seeds in Europe, 
which has brought forth numerous varieties, the foliage of which is tolerably 
distinct when the plants are young. By carefully comparing the descriptions of 
various authors, we recognize the following varieties or races, which may be 
classed under this species : 
1. R. p. intermedia, Soulange-Bodiii. This kind is thought to be a hybrid 
between the Robinia pseudacacia and viscosa. The branches, petioles, &c., are 
furnished with but few glands, and are rarely clammy. The flowers are sweet- 
scented, and of a pale rose-colour. The pods are sometimes thickly set with 
short prickles. 
2. R. p. hispida, Lin. The Hispid Rose Acacia. The leaves of this race are 
obovate, and are nearly twice the size of the Robinia pseudacacia. The branches 
and legumes are hispid. The flowers are large, of a dark rose-colour, and inodo- 
rous. 
3. R. p. rosea, Pursh. Rose Acacia. This variety differs from the R. p. his- 
pida in not having the branches and petioles hispid, and in growing to an incon- 
siderable shrub. 
4. R. p. grandiflora, Loudon. The Large-floivered Rose Acacia. The leaves 
of this variety are large, and ovate-roundish. The branches and peduncles are 
glabrous, and without prickles. The flowers are large, of a rose-colour, and 
inodorous. 
5. R. p. flore luteo, Dumont de Courset. ^Yellow -flowered Robinia. 
6. R. p. inermis, De Candolle. The Unarmed Robinia. Leaves flat. Prickles 
wanting, or nearly obsolete. 
7. R. p. crispa, De Candolle. The Crisp-leafleted Robinia. The prickles of 
this variety are wanting. The leaflets, for the most part, are undulately curled. 
8. R. p. tortuosa, De Candolle. The Twisted-trnnked Robinia. The branches 
of this variety are much crowded and twisted. Flowers small, and not abun- 
dant. 
9. R. p. umbraculifera, De Candolle. The Parasol Acacia. The branches of 
this variety are much crowded, and smooth ; its head orbicular ; and, according 
to Dumont de Courset, its flowers are yellow. 
