252 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



though smooth when the tree is 

 3'oung, yet cracks and scales off when 

 the tree grows old, as in G. triacan- 

 thos. The leaves, Michaux says, 

 differ from those of G. triacanthos, in 

 being a little smaller in all their pro- 

 portions. The branches are armed 

 with thorns, which are also less nu- 

 merous, and somewhat smaller than 

 those of G. triacanthos. The tree is 

 treated in all respects like G. tria- 

 canthos ; of which it has, till lately, 

 been considered only a variety. It 

 is raised in the nurseries from im- 

 ported seed ; but whether the plants 

 really turn out perfectly distinct, 

 with respect to the form of their fruit, 

 is uncertain ; from their not having yet, as far as we know, fruited in Engl 



413. Gleditschia (t.) monosp^rtna. 



and. 



't 3. G. sine'nsis Lajn. The Chinese Gleditschia. 



Identification. Lam. Diet., 2. p. 465. ; Dec. Prod., 2. 



p. 479. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 428. 

 Synomjmes. G. horrida IVilld. Sp. 4. p. 1098. ; Fe- 



vier de la Chine, Fi: 

 Engravings. Dec. Legum. Mem., 1. t. 1. ; the plate 



of this species in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. 



Spec. Char., ^-c. Spines stout, conical ; 

 those on the branches simple or 

 branched ; those on the stem grouped 

 and branched. The leaflets ovate- 

 elliptical, obtuse. Legumes compressed, 

 long. The spines in this species are 

 axillary, not distant from the axil. (Dec. 

 Prod.) A middle-sized tree. China. 

 Height soft, to 50ft. Introduced in 

 ITTi. Flowers greenish ; June and 

 July. Legume not seen in England. 



Va7-ieties. 



t G. s. 2 mermis N. Du Ham., G. 



japonica Lodd. Cat., G. javanica 



Lam. (see the plate of this tree 



in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v.; 



and our fg. 414.), differs from 



G. sinensis in being without 



spines, of much less vigorous 



growth, and in having the foliage 



of a much deeper green. It seems 



a very desirable variety for small 



gardens, 

 G.s. S major Hort., G, horrida major Lodd. Cat., seems scarcely to 



differ from the species. 

 t G. s. ^ nana Hort., G. h. nana in Hort. Soc. Gard. (see the plate of 



this tree in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. ; and our fig 415.), is a 



tree of somewhat lower growth than the species, but scarcely, as it 



appears to us, worth keeping distinct. 

 'i G. s. 5 purpurea Hort., (t. h. purpurea Lodd. Cat. (see the plate in 



Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. v. ; and our fig. 416.), is a small tree of 



compact upright growth, very suitable for gardens of limited extent. 



Other Varieties of G. sinensis. In Loddiges's arboretum there is a plant 



414. Gleditschm 5. in^rmis. 



