24 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



GENUS ^ESCULUS, L. 



Leaves opposite, digitately compound, destitute of stipules; leaflets serrate and 

 straight-veined. Flowers paniculate, terminal, unsymmetrical, irregular, often 

 polygamous; pedicels jointed; calyx tubular, 5-toothed, often rather gibbous at the 

 base; corrolla irregular, 4- or sometimes 5-petaled, nearly hypogynous; stamens 6-8, 

 usually 7, distinct and often unequal, with long and slender filaments; style 1, fili- 

 form; ovary 3-celled, with 2 ovules in each cell, only one of which, or one in each 

 cell, comes to maturity. Fruit roundish, coriaceous, 'dehiscent, 2-3-valved, contain- 

 ing 1-3 large, smooth, leathery and shining seeds, each with a large, pale scar; 

 cotyledons thick, bulky and inseparable, rich in starch, but of bitter taste, remaining 

 underground in germination. 



(Aesculus is a Latin name, but in ancient times applied to a kind of oak.) 



127. AESCULUS CALIFORNICA, NUTT. 

 CALIFORNIA BUCKEYE. 



Ger., Calif ornianische Roszkastanie ; Fr., Marronier de Calif or nie ; 

 Sp., Esculo Calif or niano. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTEKS. Leaves of 4-7 (usually 5) leaflets slender petiole 3-4 in. 

 long, leaflets oblong-lanceolate, 4-6 in. long, smooth, acute at apex, obtuse or 

 rounded at base, sharply serrate, with slender petiolules, in. or less in length, 

 early deciduous, sometimes even falling before midsummer. Flowers May to July, 

 about 1 in. or slightly more in length, with short pedicels, in close long-stemmed 

 pubescent thyrses 6-12 in. in length, white or rose-colored; calyx 2-lobed, very 

 slightly toothed; petals narrow-oblong, slightly unequal; stamens 5-7, with long 

 slender filaments and orange- colored anthers; pistil with ovary densely pubescent. 

 Fruit pear-shaped, with thin unarmed brown valves, with slender stem and usually 

 containing one large subglobose seed 1-2 in. long. 



Usually a small tree, and often scarcely more than a shrub, but oc- 

 casionally attaining the height of 30 or 40 ft. (10 m.) and with a short 

 trunk 2 or 3 ft. (0.90 m.) in diameter, but with a wide base 5-6 ft. (1.75 m.) 

 across at the surface of the ground. It is covered with a brownish-gray 

 bark quite smooth until old and then flaking off in irregular scales. The 

 top of the tree is wide and rounded with a symmetry suggestive of its 

 having been trimmed, and consists of many light-gray branches. It is 

 particularly beautiful in spring and early summer when in blossom. 



HABITAT. California, from Los Angeles Co. to Mt, Shasta, growing 

 along the borders of streams and slopes of the Coast Ranges and the 

 western foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It reaches its great- 

 est development north of San Francisco Bay. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood light, soft, brittle, very closely-grained, 

 compact, with numerous fine medullary rays and susceptible of a very 

 smooth polish. It is of a delicate creamy-white color, with little distinc- 

 tion between the heart and sap-woods. Specific Gravity, 0.4980 ; Per- 

 centage of Ash, 0.70 ; Relative Approximate Fuel Value, 0.4945; Coeffi- 

 cient of Elasticity, 68216; Modulus of Rupture, 635; Resistance to Longi- 

 tudinal Pressure, 355; Resistance to Indentation, 108; Weight of a Cubic 

 Foot in Pounds, 31.04. 



