THE ROMANCE OF OUR TREES 



thorn and is not particularly pleasant. The bright 

 green leaves unfold slightly before the inflorescence 

 appears and are full grown when the flowers are 

 wholly expanded. The leaves are disposed in oppo- 

 site pairs on the shoots, have a long, stout stalk, and 

 the blade is of from five to seven separate leaflets radi- 

 ating from a common base like fingers of the hand. 

 When the leaves fall in the autumn they leave prom- 

 inent scars on the shoots. The winter-buds are 

 large, chestnut-brown, and are covered with resinous 

 scale-leaves and contain next year's shoots in an ad- 

 vanced state including the flowers. If sliced ver- 

 tically all this may be clearly seen in winter. In 

 spring the buds expand very rapidly as the least 

 observant must have noticed. A whole shoot from 

 i to i J feet long being fully developed inside of three 

 weeks. These viscid winter-buds are a character of 

 importance. In eastern North America several 

 species of Horsechestnut grow wild. Here they are 

 known as Buckeyes; and is not Ohio the Buckeye 

 State? But all these have gray winter-buds, perfectly 

 free of any suspicion of resin . The Old-World species, 

 of which there are six (one in Japan, two in China, 

 two in India, and one in Greece), and the one which 

 grows wild in California have viscid winter-buds. 



The large, nearly globular, fruit with its prickly 

 studded shell is well known. It splits and falls 

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