OLEAOEAE 279 



pyramidal habit and light foliage. Most species are important forest 

 trees as well, for they sprout freely from stump and produce a straight 

 grained, tough, valuable wood of good size, much sought whenever 

 pliability and toughness are the qualities desired. The wood is commonly 

 used for making wagons, wheels, spokes, tool handles, furniture, and 

 for interior finish. 



Fraxinus chinensis Roxburgh. 

 White Wax Tree. (Pe-la Shu). 



A small tree, 13 m. tall with brownish-black winter buds which are 

 conspicuously woolly tomentose at the time of opening. Branchlets 

 glabrous. Leaves 13-20 cm. long, with channeled petioles enlarged at 

 the base, nearly glabrous; leaflets 5-9, 5-10 cm. long, the basal pair 

 smaller than the others, coriaceous, acuminate at the apex, rounded or 

 cuneate at the base, serrate, short stalked, dark green and glabrous above, 

 pubescent or hairy along the base of the veins and pale green below. 

 Flowers with the leaves in lateral and terminal, glabrous panicles. 

 Pistillate panicles 8-16 cm. long; calyx 4 parted; corolla absent. Fruit 

 oblanceolate, obtuse, acute or emarginate at the apex, 4 cm. long. 



Kiangsu, Chekiang, Anhwei, Szechuan, Hupeh, Kwangtung and 

 Tongking. 



This species is very variable as regards the shape and serration of 

 the leaves. Five varieties have been distinguished. Among them is: 



Vaf. rhynchopylla Hemsley. 



Leaflets usually 5, entire or irregularly crenate-serrate, long 

 acuminate, with slender stalks. Chihli and Manchuria. 



Fraxinus mariesii Hooker. 



Shrub or small tree. Branchlets cylindrical, purplish, pubescent. 

 Winter buds gray-black. Petiole glandular, pubescent. Leaflets 5-7, 

 nearly touching each other, sessile, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute or 

 acuminate, serrate or entire, puberulous along the base of the midrib, 

 4-8 cm. long. Flowers in erect, very showy panicles; calyx 4 cleft; 

 petals 5 or 6; stamens 2-4. Fruit with a narrow obtuse wing. 



Central China. This handsome species is very free blooming. 



