tmlM 



The Pod-bearers 



are leathery, but in the characters of flower and fruit the tree is 

 much like its Northern relative. 



The European redbud, which grows also in Asia Minor, is 

 stigmatised by tradition as the tree on which Judas Iscariot 

 hanged himself. Our little tree has had to share the name, 

 and in many places it is the "Judas tree" to-day. It is a pity to 

 keep alive a notion so ghastly. The most beautiful redbud is 

 a Chinese species (C. Chinensis, Bunge), with very large and 

 abundant pink flowers. Its leaves are bordered with a clear or 

 white rim. 



2. Genus GLEDITSIA, Linn. 



The genus Gleditsia has ten species or more, three of which 

 are native to the eastern half of the United States. Japan and 

 China have three or four species between them; Asia Minor and 

 northern Africa have representatives. The oriental species are 

 cultivated by the Japanese and Chinese, and have been intro- 

 duced into European and American plantations. The wood is 

 durable and strong. The trees are ornamental and easy to 

 grow. In Japan the pulp of the green pods is used instead of 

 soap. 



Honey Locust, Three-thorned Acacia {Gleditsia triacan- 

 thos, Linn.) A large, handsome tree, 70 to 140 feet high, with 

 rigid, horizontal branches; trunk 3 to 5 feet in diameter. Bark 

 rough, dark, deeply furrowed; twigs brown, smooth. Thorns 

 in second year, 3-pronged, single, or in close-set clusters. IVood 

 reddish brown, heavy, durable, hard. Buds clustered, nearly 

 hidden in winter; spine bud some distance above axillary buds. 

 Leaves 7 to 8 inches long, alternate, once or twice pinnately com- 

 pound, soft, velvety, and pink when opening, changing to dark 

 green v/ith paler linings; yellow in autumn. Flowers inconspicu- 

 ous, regular, in small greenish racemes, staminate and pistillate 

 racemes separate on the same or on different trees. Fruits 

 purple, curving, flat pods, 6 to 18 inches long; seeds 10 to 15, 

 hard, flat, brown. Preferred habitat, rich woods. Distribution, 

 New York and Pennsylvania to Mississippi and Texas; Ontario 

 to Michigan and Arkansas. Uses: Ornamental and shade 

 tree much cultivated. Good hedge tree. Wood used for wheel 

 hubs, fencing, and for fuel. 



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