CARAGANA 



289 



C. BREVISPINA, Royle. 



A deciduous shrub up to 8 ft. high, the young wood covered with fine down. 

 Leaves pinnate ; the common stalk (or rachis) is spine-tipped, i to 3 ins. long, 

 remaining after the leaflets have fallen, and developing ultimately into a woody 

 thorn ; stipules in the form of spines in. long. Leaflets ten to fourteen on 

 each leaf, oblong or oblanceolate ; \ to I in. long, ^ to in. wide ; covered 

 when young with flattened silky hairs. Flowers yellow, about f in. long, 

 produced three or four together at the end of a common stalk i to 2 ins. long. 

 Calyx \ in. long, bell-shaped, with five narrow, fine-pointed teeth, downy. Pod 

 2 ins. long, smooth outside, woolly within. 



Native of the north-western Himalaya at 5000 to 9000 ft. elevation, distin- 

 guished from arborescens by the long, fine-pointed spines developed from the 

 leaf-stalks, and by the several (not solitary) flowers on each stalk. It flowers 

 in June. 



CARAOANA 



C. CHAMLAGU, Lamarck. 



A deciduous shrub up to 4 ft. high, with angular branches, and of rounded, 

 bushy habit. Leaves composed of two unequal pairs of leaflets, the terminal 

 pair the largest ; the common stalk is spine-tipped, and remains after the 

 leaflets have fallen, but it does not develop into the formidable thorn seen in 

 C. brevispina or Gerardiana ; stipules i to in. long, becoming stiff thorns. 

 Leaflets very variable in size ; in young plants as much as \\ ins. long and 

 j in. wide, usually obovate, but on old flowering shoots J to f in. long , 

 smooth and lustrous, rounded at the apex. Flower i| ins. long, solitary on 

 its slender stalk i to f ins. long, reddish yellow. Calyx bell-shaped, nearly 

 o in. long, with five short, triangular teeth. Pod i ins. long, slender, smooth. 



Native of N. China; introduced in 1773. It is distinct for its large, dark 

 green, glossy, membranous leaflets, larger in a young state than those of any 

 other cultivated Caragana. The bruised bark smells like liquorice. Often 

 grafted on standards of C. arborescens, it makes a handsome bushy-topped 

 small tree. Flowers in May and June. 



