PEA FAMILY 



Winter Buds. Minute, three or four together, upper one larger 

 than the others. Spine bud minute, above the axil of the leaf and 

 embedded in the bark. 



Leaves. Alternate, pinnately or bi-pinnately compound, seven 

 to eight inches long, main stem grooved, enlarged at the base, eigh- 

 teen to twenty foliate ; sometimes bi-pinnate with four to seven pairs 

 of pinnae, upper pair often four or five inches long, lowest often 

 single leaflets. Leaflets lanceolate-oblong, one and one-half to 

 two inches long, rather unequal at base, crenulate-serrate, slightly 

 rounded at apex. They come out of the bud reddish, when full 

 grown are dark green and shining on upper surface, dull yellow 

 green beneath. In autumn they turn a clear pale yellow. 



Flowers. May, June. Polygamo-dioecious, regular, small, green- 

 ish. Staminate flowers in short, many-flowered racemes, two to two 

 and one-half inches long. Pistillate in slender, few-flowered, solitary 

 racemes, two and one-half to three inches long. 



Calyx. Campanulate, five-lobed, hairy. 



Corolla. Petals five, greenish, imbricate in bud. 



Stamens. Five, hairy, exserted ; filaments slender, anthers green. 



Pistil. Ovary superior, stipitate, one-celled, woolly ; style short ; 

 stigma dilated, rudimentary in the staminate flower ; ovules sev- 

 eral. 



Fruit. Legumes, twelve to eighteen inches long, dark brown, 

 slightly curved, borne in short racemes, walls thin and tough, inner 

 coat papery, contain quantity of sweet pulp between the seeds. In 

 drying they twist, fall in early winter. Seeds twelve to fourteen, 

 oval, flattened. 



The foliage of the Honey Locust is that of the common 

 Locust etherealized. There are the same varied values in its 

 greens, the same velvety effects in the mass, but the effect 

 as a whole is lighter, more delicate, more beautiful, for the 

 leaves are doubly pinnate instead of singly pinnate, the leaf- 

 lets are smaller and the tree itself not being subject to at- 

 tacks of insects oftener attains its normal proportions. 



The most striking peculiarity of the Honey Locust is its 

 thorns, and these thorns are of a very aggressive type. Many 

 trees are literally covered, trunk and branches, with spines 

 from two to six inches long, sometimes in clusters, often three 

 pronged or compound, very sharp and rigid, making a most 

 formidable defence against the attacks of man or beast. The 

 origin of spines or prickles is always interesting. The thorns 



114 



