26 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



sepals purplish, petals light yellow. Fruit compressed-ovate, 2-3 lines long, 

 viscid-pubescent. 



(The specific name, ovata, is the Latin for ovate or egg-shaped, descriptive of 

 the shape of the leaf.) 



This is generally a handsome bush with dense shining evergreen 

 foilage, bedecked with its numerous flower or fruit-clusters, but 

 occasionally attains the height of 20 ft. (6 m.), with well rounded top 

 and trunk 10 in. (0.25 in.) in diameter, vested in a reddish brown 

 bark which exfoliates in irregular friable scales. 



HABITAT. California, from San Diego to Los Angeles County, on 

 the hills and mountains back from the coast, the Cantillas Mountains 

 in Lower California, in southern Arizona, and on Santa Catalina 

 Island. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood quite hard, heavy and strong, close- 

 grained and susceptible of smooth polish. It is of a rich reddish or 

 yellowish brown color with a lighter sap-wood occupying the growth 

 of six or eight years. Specific gravity, etc., we believe has never 

 been determined. 



USES. - The principal use of the wood of this species seems to be 

 for fuel. In localities where it attains sufficient size, as notably the 

 region near Riverside, California, where considerable of it is marketed. 



The pleasant acid fruit is used for making a wholesome refrigerant 

 drink, suggestive of lemonade; hence its popular name, Lemonade 

 Tree. 



The tree is well deserving of popularity for ornamental planting, 

 as it is very handsome at all seasons of the year. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES are not known of this species. 



ORDER LEGUMINOSJE : PULSE FAMILY. 



Leaves alternate, usually compound, entire and furnished with stipules. Flowers 

 with 5 sepals more or less united at the base; petals 5, papilionaceous or regular, 

 stamens diadelphous, monodelnhous or distinct and with versatile anthers; pis- 

 tils single, simple and free. Fruit a legume (pod) with mostly albumenless seeds ; 



GENUS DALEA, LINNAEUS. 



Leaves alternate, unequally pinnate, or rarely digitately H-foliate or simple, 

 with small entire and often stipellate leaflets and generally minute subulate 

 deciduous stipules. Flowers nearly sessile, in loose pedunculate spikes or 

 racemes, or rarely solitary, terminal or opposite the leaves ; calyx nearly equally 

 5 toothed or cleft, persistent; corolla papilionaceous, purple, blue or white, rarely 

 yellow, petals unguiculate, standard cordate with claw free, wings arid keel usu- 

 ally longer and their claws adnale and joined to the statninal tube; stamens 10 

 (sometimes 0) monadelphous, forming a tube cleft above, anthers uniform, 

 2 celled, opening longitudinally; pistil with slender subulate style, minute termi- 

 nal stigma and sessile or subsessile ovary which contains usually 2 (sometimes 

 3-6) amphitropous ovules attached to the inner angle. Fruit an ovate legume 



