Deciduous Coral Bean 



551 



obovate blunt or slightly notched at the apex, narrowed at the base, a little hairy 

 beneath when young, but becoming smooth, 2.5 to 6 cm. long, shining and bright 

 yellowish green on the upper surface, 

 paler and dull on the under side. The 

 racemes are borne at the ends of branch- 

 lets, appearing with the leaves of the sea- 

 son in Febmary or March; the axis of 

 the racemes, the pedicels and calyx, are 

 finely velvety ; the pedicels bear two small 

 pointed bractlets at about the middle; 

 the violet-blue flowers are 2 to 3 cm. 

 long and strongly fragrant; the ovary 

 is white-silky. The pod is hard and 

 woody, 2 dm. long or less, about 1.5 cm. 

 thick through the seeds, much con- 

 stricted between the seeds, densely vel- 

 vety; the oblong red bony seeds are i 

 to 1.5 cm. long, without endosperm, and are very poisonous. 



The wood is hard, close-grained, orange-red with yellow sapwood; its specific 

 gravity is about 0.98. 



Evergreen Coral Bean. 



2. DECIDUOUS CORAL BEAN - Sophora affinis Torrey and Gray 



An inhabitant of hillsides and river valleys in southern Arkansas and Texas, 

 this small tree attains a maximum height of only about 7 meters, with a trunk up 

 to 2.5 dm. in diameter. 



The thin reddish brown bark peels off in thin scales. The young twigs are 



green and shghtly hair)% becoming brown 

 and smooth; the winter buds are small, 

 brown-hairy. The deciduous leaves are 

 stalked and have 11 to i0 oblong thin 

 short-stalked leaflets, which are blunt, 

 finely hairy when young, but smooth or 

 nearly so when old, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, 

 their yellowish midribs rather prominent 

 on the dull green under side, the upper 

 side darker green and somewhat shining. 

 The racemes, which appear in April or 

 May, are axillary, drooping, mostly shorter 

 than the leaves, the axis slender; pedi- 

 cels and calyx densely silky-hair}-; the 



Fig. 509. Deciduous Coral Bean. 



pedicels are i cm. long or less; the calyx is about 4 mm. long, and the white or 

 pinkish corolla about 1.5 cm. long; the ovar}' is stalked and hair}\ The pod is 



