234* ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BR1TANNICUM. 



Varieties. The plant varying much in its different native localities, and also 

 having been long cultivated from seeds in Europe, the varieties are nume- 

 rous. Some of those included in the following list appear in our Hortus 

 Britannicus, and in Don's Miller, as species ; while some hybrids, such as R. 

 hybrida and R. intermedia, might also have been considered as varieties, 

 but we have preferred keeping them apart. 



R. P. 2 fibre liiteo Dumont 6. p. 140. has the flowers yellow. 

 R.P.3 inermis Dec. Prod. ii. p. 261., Dec. Cat. Hort. Monsp. 136. 

 Prickles wanting, or nearly obsolete. Leaflets flat. Plant of free 

 growth, in which respect it differs from R. P. umbraculifera. 

 *t R. P. 4 crispa Dec. Prod. ii. p. 261. Prickles wanting. Leaflets all, 



or for the most part, undulately curled. 



X R. P. 5 umbracutifera Dec. Prod. ii. p. 261., Cat. Hort. Monsp. 157. 

 R. inermis Dum. Cours. vi. p. 140. Prickles wanting. Branches 

 much crowded, and smooth. Head orbicular. Leaflets ovate. This 

 variety is said to have been raised from the seed of R. Pseud- Jcacia ; 

 and, according to Dumont de Courset, to have yellow flowers. It 

 has been common in British gardens since 1820, but has not yet 

 flowered in this country. 



Y R. P. 6 tortudsaDec. Prod. ii. p. 261.; and the plate in Arb. Brit., 1st 

 edit., vol. v. Branches much crowded, and twisted. Racemes simi- 

 lar to those of R. Pseud-acacia, but smaller and fewer-flowered. 

 t R.P.I sophorae/o&J Lodd. Cat. 1830 has the leaves large, and some- 

 what like those of Sophora japonica. 

 X R. P. 8 amorphcefolia Lk. has leaves somewhat like those of Am6rpha 



fruticosa. 

 X R. P 9 stricta Lk. has the general tendency of the shoots upright ; 



but still the plant is not so fastigiate as the Lombardy poplar. 

 X R. P. 10 procera Lodd. Cat. 1830. A tall vigorous-growing variety. 

 If R. P. 1 1 pendula Ort. Dec. p. 26. The shoots are somewhat droop- 

 ing, but not very decidedly so. 



X R. P. 12 momtrosa Lodd. Cat. 1830. The leaves are large, and twisted. 

 R. P. 13 macrophylla Lodd. Cat. 1830 has the leaves long, and the 



leaflets broad. 

 R. P. 14 tmcrophylla Lodd. Cat. 1830, R. angustifolia Hort., has the 



leaves small, and the leaflets narrow. 



R. P. 15 spectabilis Dum. has large leaves and is without prickles : it 

 produces straight vigorous shoots, which are angular when young. 

 It was raised from seed by M. Descemet, at St. Denis, and was 

 formerly known in the French nurseries by the name of Acacia 

 aga9ante (enticing). 

 *i R. P. 16 latisiliqua, the broad-podded locust, is mentioned in Prince's 



Catalogue for 1829. 



Most of these varieties are tolerably distinct in the foliage when the plants 

 are young. Those best worth cultivating, for the shape of the tree, are R. 

 P. umbraculifera, the parasol acacia ; R, P. pendula ; R. P. strf eta, the 

 upright- growing sort ; and R. P. spectabilis. With regard to the yellow- 

 flowered variety, it may be worth continuing by grafting or suckers ; but, to 

 make quite sure of having white flowers, the trees producing them ought to be 

 propagated by grafting also ; as plants raised from seed, though for the most 

 part they have white flowers, yet occasionally produce yellowish ones. 

 The wood, which is commonly of a greenish yellow colour, marked with 

 brown veins, is hard, compact, and susceptible of a bright polish : it has a good 

 deal of strength, and is very durable ; but it has not much elasticity, and is 

 somewhat liable to crack. A cubic foot of locust wood, newly cut, weighs 

 63 Ib. 3 oz. ; half-dry, 56 Ib. 4 oz. ; and, when quite dry, only 48 Ib. 4 oz. Its 

 value for fuel, when compared with that of the beech, is as 12 to 15. For 

 duration Hartig places it immediately after the oak, before the larch and the 



