298 Gymnodadm canadensis, or 



Art. VIII. On the Gymn6cladiis canadetisis, or Cfffee Tree of 

 North America. By A. P. Hart, Esq., Barrister at Law, of 

 Montreal, Lower Canada, F. Mont. Nat. Hist. Soc. &c. 



Sir, 



As there seems to be some incorrectness in your conception 

 of the above tree, and as none of your correspondents have 

 materially corrected your account of it, except my friend Dr. 

 Mease of Philadelphia (Vol. VIIL p. 85.), who mentioned its 

 being a large tree instead of a twining plant, 1 take the liberty 

 of sending you a description of it, which I trust will not prove 

 wholly uninteresting to you and your readers. * 



Pursh, in his Flora of North America, a very excellent but 

 sometimes incorrect work, describes the Gyranocladus cor- 

 rectly, as follows, under his column of the class Decandria 

 Monogynia [Poli/petalce Reguldres) : — 



" Gymnocladus. Calyx tubulosus, quinquefidus. Petala 5 [I find in the 

 barren trees 4, in the fertile 5], sequalia, tubo inserta. Stamina non ex- 

 serta. Legumenuni-loculare, intus pulposum. Flores racemosi. Dioicus. 



" Canadensis 1. G. foliis bipinnatis, foliolis ovalibus acuminatis pubes- 

 centibus." — Pursh, vol. i. p. 304.; Willd. Sp. PI. iv. p. 816.; Mich. fl. 

 Amer. ; Mich. arb. e. 3.; Lara, illus. 823.; Duham. arb. 1. t. 103. 



The Gymnocladus is of the Linnsean class Dioe'cia Decan- 

 dria, and of the Jussieuean order Leguminosse. It is a tree 

 averaging from 30 ft. to 60 ft., and 10 in. to 1 3 in. in diameter ; 

 and flowers from May to July, with white flowers, succeeded 

 by large brown pods, which contain 6 or 8 seeds of a hard 

 consistence and greyish spotted colour. Leaves from 1 ft. to 

 3 ft. long, and from 10 in. to 20 in. broad, bipinnate, or doubly 

 compound, and composed of leaflets of a darkish dull green 

 colour, and ovate-acuminate figure. The bark is very rough, 

 and the inner bark so bitter and pungent, that a very small 

 piece will cause violent irritation and inflammation when de- 

 cocted : the extract is aromatic, and highly aperient. The 

 wood is of a fine grain, and very compact and strong ; colour 

 rosy: it makes a pretty wood for cabinet-work; and Brownef 

 savs, " that, like the locust, it has the valuable property of 

 rapidly converting its sap into perfect wood ; so that a trunk 

 6 in. in diameter has only six lines of sap, and may be em- 

 ployed almost entire." At least one half of the ti'ee is branch- 



* This error probably occurred from the accidental transposition of a 

 few lines, in the notes, by the copier of our MS. We knew the tree in Dick- 

 son's nursery, at Edinburgh, thirty years ago ; and had, for some years be- 

 fore the EncyclopcEdia of Plants was published, one in our own arboretum 

 at Bayswater. The proofs of the Encyclojxsdia of Plants received their 

 final correction from Professor Lindlej', as stated in the preface, page iv. ; 

 and, as the error escaped that gentleman, it is no wonder that it should 

 have been unseen by us. — Co7id. 



f Sylva Americana, by D. J. Browne. 8vo, pp. 407. Boston, 1832. 



