XVII. XANTHOXYLA X CE^E. XVIII. CORIA V CEJE. 145 



GENUS III. 



.1 

 AILA'NTUS Desf. THE AILANTO. Lin. Syst. Polygamia Monce cia. 



Identification. Desf. Act. Acad. Par., 1786, p. 263 ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 88. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 807. 



Synonymes. Ithiis Ehrh., Ellis, and Moench ; Verne du Japon, Fr. ; Gotterbaum, Ger. 



Derivation. Ailanto is the name of AUdntus glandul&sa Desf. in the Moluccas. It was long con- 

 sidered as a species of .ffhus, whence the French name ; and the meaning of the aboriginal word 

 being, it is said, tree of heaven, hence the German name, Gotterbaum, tree of the gods. 



Gen, Char. Male flowers. Calyx 5 cleft. Petals 5, longer than the calyx. 

 Stamens 10, the 5 opposite the petals shortest. Disk central. Hermaphro- 

 dite, or female, flowers. Calyx, petals, and disk as in the male, but with 

 fewer stamens. Ovaries 3 5, distinct. Samara 3 5, oblong ; 1-celled, 

 1-seeded. (Don's Mill.) 



Leaves compound, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous; impari-pinnate. Flowers 

 terminal, small, greenish. One species, a deciduous tree from China. 



1. A. GLANDULO'SA Desf. The glandulous-leaved Ailanto. 



Identification. Desf. Act. Acad. Par. 1786, p. 263. ; Dec. Prod, 1. p. 89. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 807. 

 Synonymes. A. procera Sal. Prod. p. 271. ; -Rhus hypselodendron Moench ; R. cacod^ndron Ehrh. ; 



R. smense -E/ft's ; Aylanthe glanduleux, Fr.; drusiger Gotterbaum, Ger.; Albero di Paradiso, Ital. 



ngravings. Wats. Dend. 



our fig. 194. 



Engravings. Wats. Dend. Brit, t. 108. ; the plate of the tree in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. ; and 

 g. 19 



Spec. Char., S/-c. Leaves impari-pinnate ; the leaflets coarsely toothed at the 

 base ; the teeth glandulous on the under side. (Dec. Prod.} A large tree. 

 North of China. Height 50 ft. to 60 ft. Introd. 1751. Flowers whitish 

 green, exhaling a disagreeable odour ; August. Capsules like the keys of 

 the ash, but smaller ; ripe in October. Decaying leaves brownish, but drop- 

 ping with the first frost, without any great change of colour. The leaflets 

 often separating from the petiole of the leaf, and leaving it for some weeks 

 attached to the tree. Naked young wood 

 rusty brown, without buds. 



The leaves on vigorous young trees are 

 sometimes 6 ft. in length. The fruit, which 

 has been ripened at White Knights, resembles 

 the keys of the ash, but is smaller. The tree 

 grows with great rapidity for the first 10 or 

 12 years, producing shoots from 3 ft. to 6 ft. 

 in length at first, and attaining the height of 

 15 or 20 feet in 5 or 6 years, in favourable 

 situations. Afterwards its growth is much 

 slower. It grows in any soil, though one that 

 is light and somewhat humid, and a sheltered 

 situation, suit it best. In France, it is said to 

 thrive on chalky soils, and attain a large size 

 where scarcely any other tree will grow. It 

 is readily propagated by cuttings of the roots. 194. AM* 



SECTION IV. 



Fruit gynobasic ; that is, inseiled into a fleshy Receptacle, with winch the Style 



is continuous. 



ORDER XVIII. CORIA N CEZE. 



ORD. CHAR. Flvivers either hermaphrodite, monoecious, or dioecious. Uai-yx 

 eampanulate, 5-parted. Petals 5. Stamens 10. Carpels 5. Low shrubs 

 natives of temperate and warm climates. 



