STAPHYLEACEAE. — TAPISCIA 189 



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tree 16-30 m. tall, girth 2.5-4 m., flowers yellow). Mt. Omei-, alt. 

 500-1600 m., common, Jmie 1903 (Veitch Exped. No. 3362); \vithout 

 locality, A. Henry (No. 8990). Yunnan: Szemao, alt. 1600 m., A. 

 Henry (No. 13151). 



This monotypic genus is rather rare in western Hupeh where it occurs in moist 

 woods and is seldom more than from 12 to 15 m. tall. In western Szech'uan and 

 especially round Mt. Omei, it is common and large trees occur. Under the most 

 favorable conditions it grows from 25 to 30 m. tall with a trunk from 0.6-1 m. in 

 diameter and bare of branches for a considerable height; the branches are stout, 

 spreading and form a flattened head of moderate size; the bark is light gray, 

 slightly fissured and fairly smooth; the wood is white, soft and useless. The 

 flowers are minute, yellow, with a pleasant honey-like fragrance and are borne in 

 fairly large axillary panicles. The ripe fruit is black, subglobose and when young 

 is often attacked by gall-insects. The pinnate leaves turn yellow in the autumn. 

 In herbaria the specimens of this tree suggest a pinnate-leaved species of Am- 

 pelopsis. 



In Hupeh a colloquial name for this tree is " Yin-ch'iao shu " sometimes abbre- 

 viated to " Yin-chi shu." A picture of this tree will be found under No. 325 of 

 the collection of Wilson's photographs and also in his Vegetation of Western China, 

 No. 482. 



