428 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



to twenty-four) leaflets, which are | to i^ inch long, alternate, oblong rounded at 

 the base obtuse or rarely acute at the apex, densely silky appressed pubesc nt 

 beneath, on short pubescent petiolules ; rachis densely pubescent, swollen at the 

 base, and forming a conical sheath enclosing the bud. 



Flowers polygamous, in pubescent racemes, those with stammate flowers 

 shorter than the others. Calyx pubescent, with subulate lobes. Petals oval-oblong. 

 Ovary glabrous with four ovules. Pod, 4 inches long by 4 inch broad, glabrous. 

 Seeds, two to four, black, globose, smooth, | inch m diameter. 



This tree is rather rare in China, though specimens have been collected m the 

 provinces of Anhwei, Kiangsi, Chekiang, Hupeh, and Szechuan. Near Ichang 

 it grows at 1000 to 2000 feet altitude. The pods, called /et-tsao, after bemg 

 steeped in water, produce a liquid esteemed for washing the hair and cleansmg 



silk articles. 



Plants^ were raised at Kew from seeds sent by me in 1888; but died in 

 a year or two. Seeds, which could be easily procured from Shanghai, where 

 they are sold in the shops, might be tried in the warmer parts of England 

 and Ireland, as the tree is worth cultivating on account of its beautiful delicate 

 foliage. (^- ^•) 



GYMNOCLADUS CANADENSIS, Kentucky Coffee Tree 



Gymnocladus canadensis, Lamarck, Encycl. 1. 733 (1783); Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit. ii. 656 



(1838), 

 Gymnocladus dioicus, Koch, Dendrologie, i. 5 (1869); Sargent, Silva N. Amer. 111. 69, tt. 123, 124 



(1892), and Trees N. Amer. 554 (1905). 

 Guilandina dioicus, Linnseus, Sp. PL 381 (1753). 



A tree attaining in America over 100 feet in height and 9 feet in girth. Bark 

 fissured, dark grey, and roughened by small persistent scales. Young shoots 

 covered with short pubescence. Leaves (Plate 125, fig. 4) i to 3 feet long, with 

 5 to 1 1 pinnae, which are usually alternate but occasionally sub-opposite, the two or 

 rarely the four lower pinnae simple, the others composed of six to fourteen alternate 

 pinnate leaflets. Leaflets 2 to 3 inches long, on pubescent stalklets, ovate, rounded 

 at the base, acuminate at the apex, entire and ciliate in margin ; under surface 

 with scattered long hairs. 



Flowers usually dioecious, the inflorescence of the staminate tree a short 

 racemose corymb, that of the pistillate tree a long raceme. Calyx tomentose, 

 with five narrow oblong lobes. Petals five, tomentose, longer and broader than 

 the calyx-lobes. Ovary pubescent ; ovules ten or more. 



Pod, 6 to 10 inches long by i^ to 2 inches broad, minutely pubescent. Seeds, 



1 Cf. Nicholson, Garden and Forest, 1889, p. 139. 



