fJ56 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



GENUS XXI. 



GYMNO'CLADUS Lam. THE GYMNOCLADUS. Lin. Syst. Dice'eia 



Decandria. 



Identification. Lam. Diet., 1. p. 733. ; 111., t. 823. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 479 



Derivation. From gvmnos, naked, and klados, a branch; from the naked appearance of the branches 

 during winter, when they seem, unless perhaps at the points of the shoots, totally devoid of buds. 



Description. There is only one species, a deciduous tree, with upright 

 branches, and inconspicuous buds. 



If 1. G. CANADE'NSIS Lam. The Canada Gymnocladus, or Kentucky 

 Coffee Tree. 



Identification Lam. Diet, 1. p. 733., and III, t. 823. ; Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 241. : Dec. Prod., 2. 

 p. 480. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 429. 



Synonymes. Guilandlna dioica Lin. Sp.,546. ; Hyperanthdra diofca Vahl Sytnb., 1. p. 31., Duh. 

 Ari>., 1. t. 103. ; Nicker Tree, Stump Tree, United States ; Bonduc, Chiquier, Fr.\ Chicot, Ca- 

 nadian ; Canadischer Schusserbaum, Ger. 



Engravings. Reich. Mag., t. 40. , Duh. Arb., 1. 103. ; and our plates of this tree in VoL II. 



Spec. Char., fyc. A deciduous tree, with branches blunt at the tip, bipinnate 

 leaves, flowers in racemes, and whitish petals. The leaf has 4 7 pinnae ; 

 the lower of which consist each of but a single leaflet, the rest each 

 of 6 8 pairs of leaflets. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 480.) A native of Canada, 

 introduced in 1748; growing, in England, to the height of 30ft. or 40ft.; 

 and flowering in August. 



Description. In its native country, this tree grows to the height of 50 ft. 

 or 60 ft., with a trunk from 12 in. to 1.5 in. in diameter. The . branches have 

 almost always an upright direction ; and the appearance of the head, in the 

 winter season, is remarkable, from being fastigiate, and from the points of 

 the branches being few, and thick and blunt, as compared with those of almost 

 every other tree. They are also wholly without the appearance of buds; 

 and this latter circumstance, connected with the former, gives the tree, during 

 winter, the appearance of being dead ; and hence the Canadian name of chicot, 

 or stump tree. The bark of the trunk is extremely rough, and detaches 

 itself, after a certain age, in small, hard, transverse slips, rolled backwards at 

 the end, and projecting sufficiently to distinguish the tree from every other, even 

 at a distance. When the tree is clothed with leaves, the head forms a dense 

 mass, roundish or oval. The leaves, on young thriving trees, are 3 ft. long, 

 and 20 in. wide ; but, on trees nearly "full grown, they are not half that size. 

 The leaflets are of a dull bluish green, and the branches of the petioles are 

 somewhat of a violet colour. The flowers are white, in spikes of 2 in. or more 

 in length : they appear from May to July, and are succeeded by large cimeter- 

 shaped pods, 5 in. or more in length, and about 2 in. or more in breadth. The 

 roots of the tree are few, thick, and directed downwards, as the branches are 

 upwards, rather than horizontally. 



Geography. The gymnocladus grows in Upper Canada, beyond Montreal, 

 and on the borders of Lakes Ontario and Erie ; but it is only sparingly found 

 in these places, which are its northern limits. It is abundant in Kentucky 

 and Tennessee, in the tracts which border the Ohio and Illinois rivers, 

 between lat. 35 and 40 N. It is there found along with Juglans nigra, 

 t/'lmus rubra, Liriodendron Tulipifera, .Fraxinus quadrangulata, Gleditschia 

 triacanthos, and more especially with Celtis occidentalis. It is never found 

 but on the very richest soils. 



History. This tree was introduced into England in 1748, and was culti- 

 vated by Archibald Duke of Argyll, at Whitton, where it is believed the 

 original tree still exists. Being very hardy, and remarkable for the beauty of 

 its foliage during summer, it has found its way into most collections in 

 England, and is also cultivated in France and the south of Germany. 



