654? ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



4. G. SINE'NSIS Lam. The Chinese Gleditschia. 



Identification. Lam. Diet, 2. p. 465. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 479. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 42& 



S,j,ioni/>ncs. G. h6rrida mild. Sp., 4. p. 1098. ; Fevier de la Chine, Fr. 



Engravings. Dec. Lgum. Mem., 1. 1 1. j and the plate of this species in our Second Volume. 



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. A native of China. The 

 spines in this species are axillary, not distant from the axil. (Dec. Prod., ii. 

 p. 479.) A deciduous tree, very distinct, according to Desfontaines, from 

 the American species. The spines, which are very strong and branchy, are 

 more abundant on the trunk than on the branches, and are frequently 

 found in bundles. The leaves are bipinnate, and the leaflets are elliptic 

 obtuse, notched on the edges, smooth, shining, and much larger than 

 those of any other species. (Desf. Arb., ii. p. 248.) The pods are rarely 

 above 6 in. long. The tree stands the cold better than the honey locust, 

 and has ripened its fruit in Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, and in the 

 nursery of M. Cels. (Diet, des Eauxet des Forets, vol. ii. p. 150.) The rate 

 of growth, judging from young trees in the garden of the London Horti- 

 cultural Society, and in the arboretum of the Messrs. Loddiges, is nearly 

 the same as that of G. triacanthos. A full-grown tree of this species in 

 the grounds at Syon, under the name of G. horrida, 54 ft. high, diameter of 

 the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 54 ft., is figured in our Second Volume. It 

 is of less height, and with a more spreading head, than the American spe- 

 cies in the same pleasure-grounds. It was introduced in 1774, and is 

 generally propagated, in the British nurseries, by grafting on the common 

 species. 

 Varieties. 



*t G, s.2 inermis N. Du Ham., G. japonica Lodd. Cat., G. javanica ?., 

 (see the plate of this tree in our Second Volume,) only differs from 

 G. sinensis in being without spines, and being a less vigorous- 

 growing tree. It seems a very desirable variety for small gardens. 

 G. s. 3 major Hort., G. horrida major Lodd. Cat., seems scarcely to 



differ from the species. 



G. s. 4 ndna Hort., G. h. nana in Hort. Soc. Gard., (see the plate of 

 this tree in our Second Volume,) is a tree of somewhat lower growth 

 than the species, but scarcely, as it appears to us, worth keeping 

 distinct. 



G. s. 5 purpurea Hort., G. h. purpurea Lodd. Cat., (see our plate in 

 Vol. II.,) 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 

 marked G. chinensis (Potts), which was imported from China by the London 

 Horticultural Society. It is, at present, a low bush, and may, perhaps, 

 prove something distinct. There were also, in 1835, in the Horticultural 

 Society's Garden, some plants without names, apparently belonging to this 

 species ; but, as we have already observed, the genus is in great confusion, and 

 nothing perfectly satisfactory can be stated respecting it. 



Statistics. The largest tree of this species in the neighbourhood of London is that at Sypn, 54 ft. high, 

 before noticed; in the Mile End Nursery is one 47 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 8 in., and of the 

 head 46 ft. ; in Dorsetshire, at Melbury Park, is one 26 years planted, and 25 ft. high ; in Sussex, at 

 West Dean, 14 years planted, and 42 ft high ; in Wiltshire, at Longford Castle, 25 years planted, and 

 25 ft. high ; in Berkshire, at White Knights, 24 years planted, and 20ft. high ; in Suffolk, at Amp. 

 ton Hall, 15 years planted, and 22ft. high. In Scotland, in Lawson's Nursery, at Edinburgh, 10 

 years planted, and 12 ft. high ; in the Perth Nursery, 25 years planted, and "J ft. high. In Ireland, 

 in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden at Dublin, 20 years planted, and 12ft. high. In trance, in Paris, 

 in the Jardin des Plantes, 40 ft. high ; at Nerri&res, in the grounds of M. Vilmorin, 20 years planted, 

 and 20ft. high ; in the Botanic Garden at Toulon, 50 years planted, and 36 ft high. In Saxony, at 

 Wdrlitz, 36 years planted, and 30ft. high; in Austria, at Vienna, in RosenthaPs Nursery, 17 years 

 planted, and 20ft. high. In Prussia, at Sans Souci, 10 years planted, and 16ft. high. In Hanover, 

 in the Botanic Garden at Gottingen, 25 years planted, and 30ft. high. 



3f 5. G. (s.) MACRACA'NTHA Desf. The long-spined Gleditschia. 



Identification. Desf. Arb., 2. p. 246. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 428. 

 Si/nonymcs. G. ferox Baudr. ; Fi'vier & grosses E'pines, Fr. 

 Engraving. The plate of this species in our Second Volume. 



