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The inconspicuous red flowers are borne close to (he branches, 

 but the chocohite-colored pods 6 to 10 inches long are conspicu- 

 ous on the pistillate trees. It is these pods with the sweetish 

 pulp around the seeds, that are reputed to be the locusts that 

 John the Baptist ate in the wilderness and they are most cer- 

 tainly the husks that the prodigal son was reduced to. 



A characteristic tree with slender drooping branches covered 

 with once compound leaves, the slender pinnae giving an almost 

 fern-like appearance, is the Pepper tree, Schinus niolle, a native 

 of Peru and a member of the Anacardiaceae. It was brought 

 to California in the early days by the padres. The hanging pan- 

 icles of red berries on the pistillate trees are noticeable for much 

 of the year. Where pepper trees line both sides of the road, the 

 branches often meet overhead. Small leafy branches growing 

 from the thickened base of the trunks make them irregular 

 and knobby. 



Another beautiful tree with twice compound leaves is the 

 Jacaranda, /. ovaliforme, a native of Brazil, prized for the 

 feathery foliage as well as for the large clusters of blue or violet 

 flowers, — ^in size and shape much like those of its close relative, 

 the Catalpa. The trees are well covered with flowers in June and 

 July but a few clusters may be found on some trees at any time 

 through the fall and winter. Less commonly seen is the Silk 

 Oak, Grevillea rohusta a tall tree with long leaves deeply dis- 

 sected and so appearing to be twice compound. It is a native of 

 Australia. 



Two trees that resemble each other are the Rubber tree, 

 Ficus elastica, from the East Indies and the Magnolia, M. 

 grandifiora, from the southeastern U. S., for both have thick 

 glossy, evergreen leaves. The first of these is rarely seen in the 

 open, but its close relative, the Moreton Bay Fig, Ficus macro- 

 phylla, of Australia is frequent as a specimen tree on lawns and 

 at times is grown as a shade tree along streets. Another pair of 

 trees with a superficial resemblance are the Bottle tree, Ster- 

 culia diversifolia, a native of Australia, and the Camphor-tree, 

 Cinnamomuni camphora, a native of Formosa. Both have light 

 green, ovate leaves 2 to 3 or 4 inches long, but those of the Bottle 

 Tree are sometimes lobed irregularly, while the leaves of the 

 Camphor-tree are always entire. Then the bark of the Bottle 

 tree is smooth and light grey, that of the Camphor-tree dark 



