ARBORICULTURE 



ARBORICULTURE 



375 



assume a deep purple or crimson tint in the foliage dur- 

 ing autumn, others a golden yellow. Magnolia. Of the 

 native deciduous species, M. acuminata is the most 

 desirable for street and avenue planting. All the spe- 

 cies are voracious feeders and thrive best in rich soils. 

 M. macrophylla, or umbrella magnolia, seldom grows 

 beyond 25 feet, but is conspicuous for the length and 

 size of its leaves. This tree is called umbrella tree 

 South, whereas this name applies to M. tripetala at the 

 North. M. Fraseri, ear-leaved magnolia or wahoo of 

 the western North Carolina mountaineers, is also a very 

 ornamental tree. M. Iripelala is objectionable in gar- 

 dens owing to the unpleasant odor of its flowers. Few 

 Chinese species, with the exception of M. hypoleuca, 

 attain the size of a tree. M . denudata and M. Soulange- 

 ana can be trained to a single stem and made to attain 

 a height of 25 feet. All the other varieties may be 

 classed as shrubs. The flowers are often injured by 

 late spring frosts. Melia Azedarach (Pride 

 of India, Chinaberry). Almost natural- 

 ized South. It is of very rapid 

 growth and begins to flower at an 

 early stage. The flowers are 

 delightfully fragrant, with 

 the perfume of the lilac. 

 Extensively planted for 

 shade trees. The um- 

 brella form, known as 

 Texas umbrella, as- 

 sumes a dense, 

 spreading head 

 with drooping 

 foliage. It is of 

 unique appear- 

 ance and can be 

 used with great 

 effect in land- 

 scape work. 

 Morus. M.rubra 

 is frequently 

 planted for shade; 

 it is valuable for 

 its wood, which is 

 of great durability 

 for posts. M. alba 

 is naturalized in 

 many sections. A form 

 of M. rubra discovered 

 in middle Georgia some 

 years ago and called the 

 Stubbs mulberry, from the 

 discoverer, produces enormous 

 crops of large, rich vinous iruit. This 

 and the Hicks and Downing varie- 

 ties are often planted for feeding poultry and hogs. 

 They should not be planted near dwellings, owing 

 to the dropping of the fruit. Nyssa sylvalica. Only 

 desirable in landscape work for the brilliant red 

 tint of its autumn foliage. Oxydendrum arbweum. 

 Desirable for its flowers and highly colored autumn 

 foliage. Parkinsonia aculeata. Retoma or horse 

 bean of southern Texas. A small tree with green 

 bark, feathery foliage and yellow flowers. Valuable for 

 shrubberies. Paulownia tomentosa. Rapid-growing. 

 Almost naturalized in some sections of the South. The 

 foliage in young trees is very large. Flowers pale violet, 

 very fragrant, in long panicles; they open before the 

 leaves appear. Peach. There are many ornamental 

 varieties which are exceedingly handsome while in 

 bloom, especially the double-flowering crimson, white 

 and pink; others are desirable for their peculiar growth, 

 as Pyramidalis, which is as erect as a Lombardy poplar. 

 Weeping, willow-leaved, and golden-leaved varieties are 

 interesting. Prunus. Hortulana or Chicasaw plums 

 are sometimes planted for ornament, though commonly 

 for fruit. P. virginiana is abundant everywhere but 



355. Avenue of live oaks, Audubon Park, 

 New Orleans. 



not valued owing to being usually infested with tent 

 caterpillars. Prunus Pissardii is the best purple-leaved 

 tree for the South, as it retains its color during sum- 

 mer. Pinckneya pubens. This very ornamental small 

 tree is seldom seen under cultivation, as it grows natu- 

 rally in wet and boggy soils. Pyrus coranaria. The 

 crab-apple, a small tree with very fragrant flowers in 

 spring, is excellent for shrubberies. Platanus occi- 

 dentalis. One of the most desirable trees for street 

 planting. Populus. The variety used most freely for 

 street planting is P. deUoides or P. monilifera, com- 

 monly known in the South as cottonwood. It is of rapid 

 growth and thrives in nearly all soils that are not too 

 arid. All southern nurserymen catalogue the Carolina 

 poplar, but the stock is not always true to name. 

 Pterocarya fraxinifolia, or Caucasian wing-fruited wal- 

 nut, is a very rapid-growing tree, with spreading 

 branches and pinnate foliage. Very ornamental when 

 covered with pendulous racemes of small 

 winged nuts ; which, however, are of no 

 economic value. Quercus. Nearly 

 all the species of the middle and 

 eastern states are found more 

 or less abundant in the 

 middle South, but the 

 most valuable purely 

 southern species are as 

 follows: Q. phellos, 

 or willow oak, with 

 lanceolate leaves; 

 Q. aquatica, or 

 water oak, with 

 leaves almost 

 perennial, oblong 

 and obtusely 

 lobed. Both are 

 largely planted 

 for streets and 

 shade, as they 

 grow very rapidly 

 and in almost any 

 soil. Q. falcala, 

 Q. laurifolia, Q. 

 phellos and Q. 

 Muhlenbergii are de- 

 sirable. Q. virgin- 

 iana, or live oak, is a 

 very large tree, seldom 

 exceeding 50 feet in height 

 but covering a large circum- 

 ference. It is native along 

 the seacoast and adapts itself to 

 inland sections, where it does not 

 attain the great size of the coast 

 region. There is no southern tree, except Magnolia 

 grandiflora, that is more admired, especially when 

 planted in avenues. Sapindus marginatus. The 

 globose yellow berries are retained during winter. 

 Berries when boiled produce a saponaceous fluid. Stil- 

 lingia sebifera. Naturalized on the coast of Georgia and 

 South Carolina. The acuminate rhomboidal leaves give 

 the tree a unique appearance. Requires rich soil and is 

 valuable in landscape work. Symplocos linctoria. Not 

 common. Should be available for shrubberies. Tilia 

 pubescens. A large tree occasionally found in rich soils 

 along the seacoast. Differs little in general from T. 

 americana, but seems to be better suited to the middle 

 South. Very desirable for street planting or shade. 

 Toxylon, or Madura, is naturalized in many sections of 

 the middle South. Grows to a height of 30 feet and the 

 fertile trees are very ornamental when laden with their 

 large, globular fruit. The wood is very lasting when 

 used for posts and takes a beautiful polish. Ulmus 

 americana is perhaps more largely planted for streets 

 and avenues than any other deciduous tree. Viburnum 

 prunifolium (black haw or possum haw). In very rich 



