192 TREES 



beautiful trees on the bluffs along the coast, south of the 

 Rio Grande. Its leaves are feathery, fern-like, its flowers 

 in creamy clusters, its pods thick, almost as large as those 

 of the honey locust. The seeds are palatable and nutri- 

 tious, green or ripe. Immature, the pods are cooked like 

 string beans; ripe, they are roasted, and the pods them- 

 selves are ground and used as a substitute for coffee. 



The wood is valuable in fine cabinet work, and because 

 it is almost indestructible in contact with the ground, it is 

 largely used for fence posts. It makes superior fuel. Besides 

 being more valuable than any other tree of the Rio Grande 

 Valley, though it rarely exceeds thirty feet in height, it is 

 worthy of the attention of gardeners as well as foresters in 

 all warm temperate countries. Prof. Sargent calls it the 

 finest ornamental tree native to Texas. 



The Frijolito 



Sophora secundiflora, DC. 



The frijolito or coral-bean is a small, slender narrow- 

 headed tree, with persistent, locust-like leaves, fragrant 

 violet-blue flowers, and small one-sided racemes. The 

 pods are silky white, pencil-like, constricted between the 

 bright scarlet seeds. The tree grows wild in canyons in 

 southern Texas and New Mexico, forming thickets or 

 small groves in low moist limestone soil and stream bor- 

 ders. It is a close relative of the famous pagoda tree of 

 Japan, S. Japonica, universally cultivated; and it deserves 

 to be a garden tree throughout the Southern states. 



