252 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BR1TANNICUM. 



413. Gleditsehid (t.) monosp^rma. 



though smooth when the tree is 

 young, yet cracks and scales off when 

 the tree grows old, as in G. triacan- 

 thos. The leaves, Michaux says, 

 differ from those of G. triacantho.s, in 

 being a little smaller in all their pro- 

 portions. The branches are armed 

 with thorns, which are also less nu- 

 merous, and somewhat smaller than 

 those of G. triacanthos. The tree is 

 treated in all respects like G. tria- 

 canthos ; of which it has, till lately, 

 been considered only a variety. It 

 is raised in the nurseries from im- 

 ported seed; but whether the plants 

 really turn out perfectly distinct, 

 with respect to the form of their fruit, 

 is uncertain ; from their not having yet, as far as we know, fruited in England. 



*t 3. G. SINE'NSIS Lam. The Chinese Gleditschia. 



Identification. Lam. Diet., 2. p. 465. ; Dec. Prod., 2. 



p. 479. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 428. 

 Synonymes. G. horrida Willd. Sp. 4. p. 1098. ; Fe. 



vier de la Chine, Ft: 

 Engravings. Dec. Legum. Mem., 1. t. 1. ; the plate 



of this species in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. 



Spec. Char., $c. Spines stout, conical ; 



those on the branches simple or 



branched ; those on the stem grouped 



and branched. The leaflets ovate- 

 elliptical, obtuse. Legumes compressed, 



long. The spines in this species are 



axillary, not distant from the axil. (Dec. 



Prod.) A middle-sized tree. China. 



Height 30ft. to 50ft. Introduced in 



1774. Flowers greenish; June and 



July. Legume not seen in England. 

 Varieties. 



* G. s. 2 inermis N. Du Ham., G. 



japonica Lodd. Cat., G. javanica 

 Lam. (see the plate of this tree 

 in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v.; 

 and pur fig. 414.), differs from 

 G. sinensis in being without 

 spines, of much less vigorous 

 growth, and in having the foliage 

 of a much deeper green. It seems 

 a very desirable variety for small 

 gardens. 



2 G. s. 3 major Hort., G. horrida major Lodd. Cat., seems scarcely to 

 differ from the species. 



* G. s. 4 nana Hort., G. h. nana in Hort. Soc. Gard. (see the plate of 



this tree in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. ; and our fg 415.), is a 

 tree of somewhat lower growth than the species, but scarcely, as it 

 appears to us, worth keeping distinct. 



? G. s. 5 purpurea Hort., G. h. purpurea Lodd. Cat. (see the plate in 

 Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. ; and our Jig. 416.), is a small tree of 

 compact upright growth, very suitable for gardens of limited extent. 



Other Varieties of G. sinensis. In Loddiges's arboretum there is a plant 



414. Gleditschw . 



