GLEDITSIA 



GLEDITSIA 



1347 



1652. Gleditsia triacanthos. 

 (X>fl 



is a useful native and is hardy North; G. japonica is 

 almost hardy North, while G. Delavayi and G. sinensis 

 are tender. They are very valuable trees for park 

 planting and for avenues, and make almost impene- 

 trable hedges if planted 

 thickly and pruned se- 

 verely. The coarse-grained 

 wood is durable and 

 strong. The pulp of the 

 pods of G. triacanthos is 

 sweet when fresh, hence 

 the name honey locust, 

 but becomes bitter at 

 length; that of G. japonica 

 is used in Japan and that 

 of G. sinensis and G. 

 macracantha in China as a 

 substitute for soap. The 

 gleditsias are of vigorous 

 growth and thrive in 

 almost any soil; they 

 stand drought well. Prop- 

 agation is by seeds sown 

 in spring about 1 inch 

 deep; they should be 

 soaked in hot water be- 

 fore being sown; varie- 

 ties and rare kinds are 

 sometimes grafted on 

 seedlings of G. triacanthos 

 in spring. 



A. Spines more or less compressed, at least at the base: 

 walls of pod papery or leathery: Ivs. pinnate with 

 more than 12 Ifts., or bipinnate. 



B. Pod 1-2-seeded, oval, not pulpy. 

 aquatica, Marsh. (G. inermis, Mill., not Linn. G. 

 monosperma, Walt.). WATER or SWAMP LOCUST. Tree, 

 to 60 ft., with short trunk, spiny: Ivs. 12-18-foliolate or 

 doubly pinnate with 6-8 pinnae; Ifts. ovate-oblong, 

 usually rounded or sometimes emarginate at the apex, 

 slightly crenate and often entire below the middle, 

 glabrous except a few hairs on the petiolules, about 1 

 in. long: fls. in racemes; ovary glabrous: pods long- 

 stalked, 1-2 in. long. May, June. S. C. and Ky. to 

 Fla. and Texas. S.S. 3:127, 128. 



BB. Pod many-seeded, elongated and usually more or 



less twisted, pulpy. 



c. Lfts. usually acute or acutish, often more than 20, not 

 over 1% in. long: ovary pubescent. 



triacanthos, Linn. HONEY or SWEET LOCUST. THREE- 

 THORNED ACACIA. Fig. 1652. Tree, 70-140 ft., usually 

 with stout simple or branched spines 3-4 in. long: Ivs. 

 Q-S in. long, with pubescent grooved rachis; pinnate 

 with 20-30 Ifts., bipinnate with 8-14 pinnae; Ifts. oblong- 

 lanceolate, remotely crenulate-serrate, %-lM m - long: 

 fls. very short-pedicelled in 1^2-3 in. long, narrow 

 racemes; ovary pubescent: pod 12-18 in. long, slightly 

 falcate and twisted at length. May, June. From Pa. 

 south to Miss., west to Neb. and Texas. S.S. 3:125, 

 126. Gn. 32, p. 304. Var. inermis, Pursh. Unarmed 

 or nearly so, of somewhat more slender and looser 

 habit; var. inermis elegantissima, Grosdemange, is 

 an unarmed form of dense bushy habit and with smaller 

 Ifts. R.H. 1905, p. 513. Var. Bujdtii, Rehd. (G. 

 Bujotii, Neum. G. Bujotii pendula, Hort.). With slen- 

 der, pendulous branches and narrower Ifts. 



CC. Lfts. obtuse or emarginate, usually less than 20: ovary 



glabrous or only pubescent on the margin. 

 japonica, Miq. (G. hdrrida, Makino). Fig. 1653. 

 Tree, 60-70 ft., with somewhat compressed, often 

 branched spines, 2-4 in. long: Ivs. 10-12 in. long, with 

 grooved and slightly winged, puberulous rachis, pin- 

 nate with 16-20 Ifts., bipinnate with 8-12 pinna?; Ifts. 



ovate to oblong, nearly lanceolate, obtuse, entire or 

 remotely crenulate, lustrous above, %-2 in. long: fls. 

 short-pedicelled, in slender racemes: pod 10-12 in. 

 long, twisted, bullate, with the seeds near the middle; 

 pulp acid. Japan, China. G.F. 6:165 (adapted in Fig. 

 1653). Var. purpftrea, Rehd. (G. sinensis var. pur- 

 purea, Loud. G. coccinea, Hort. G. sinensis var. ori- 

 entdlis, Hort.). Lfts. broadly oval to oblong-oval, 

 obtuse or emarginate, J-l^ in. on the pinnate, smaller 

 on the bipinnate Ivs. 



Delavayi, Franch. Tall tree: spines compressed at 

 the base, to 10 in. long: Ivs. 12-18-foliolate, only on 

 young plants partly bipinnate; Ifts. obliquely ovate or 

 ovate-oblong, obtuse or emarginate, slightly crenate 

 or nearly entire, dark green and lustrous above, gla- 

 brous, to 2% in. long, the lower much smaller, also 

 much smaller on young plants: fls. in slender racemes; 

 ovary glabrous : pod with leathery walls, to 15 or some- 

 times to 20 in. long and to 2 ^ in. broad, twisted. S. W. 

 China. Very handsome; recently intro. 



AA. Spines terete: walls of pod thick, woody; pod straight 

 or falcate, not twisted: Ivs. 8-16-foliolate, very 

 rarely bipinnate. 



sinensis, Lam. (G. hdrrida, Willd.). Tree, to 40 ft., 

 with stout conical often branched spines: Ivs. 5-7 in. 

 long, with grooved pubescent rachis, and 8-18 Ifts.; 

 Ifts. ovate or oblong-ovate, obtuse or acute, crenulate- 

 serrate, yellowish green, dull above, reticulate beneath, 

 %-2 in. long: fls. distinctly pedicelled, in slender 

 racemes; ovary glabrous: pod almost straight, thick, 

 4-7 in. long, 1-1 ^ in. broad. China. Var. nana, Loud. 

 Shrubby and less spiny, with smaller and narrower Ifts. 



G. amorpholdes, Taub. (Garugandra amorphoides, Griseb. ) 

 Tree, to 50 ft., very spiny: Ifts. obliquely ovate to linear-oblong, 

 J-l in. long: fls. in racemes: pod oblong, falcate, 3^-4 in. long, 1 in. 

 broad, J^in. thick. Argentina, Bolivia. Cult, in Calif. G. australis, 

 Hemsl. Tree with large spines: Ifts. very oblique, oblong, crenate, 

 leathery, shining: pod with coriaceous walls, 4-5 in. long. S. China. 

 G. cdspica, Deaf. (G. horrida var. caspica, Schneid.). Allied to 

 G. japonica. Lvs. pinnate with 12-20 ovate, crenulate Ifts., or bipin- 



1653. Gleditsia japonica. ( X Ya) 



