448 OUR WOODLAND TREES. 
smaller towards its apex, a single leaflet termi- 
nating the mid-stem, as in the case of the Moun- 
tain Ash. The Acacia leaflets are ovate in form, 
but somewhat more rounded at their apices than 
at their bases. From the mid-veins dividing the 
leaflets, along their centre, parallel veinlets 
branch on each side in a sort of curving sweep 
towards the margins. The colour of the leaves of 
Robinia pseud-Acacia is usually a bright golden 
green. 
Its flowers, which are white, are beantifully 
fragrant. They do not appear until May or June, 
and are then borne upon the twigs in pendulous 
racemes, somewhat like those of the Laburnum, 
the fruit being borne in long pods, also somewhat 
hke those of the Laburnum. 
Robinia pseud-Acacia igs an extremely rapid 
grower, reaching sometimes a height of more 
than thirty feet in ten years. Its roots take a 
horizontal direction—a habit which enables it to 
obtain the greatest benefit from the soil, which 
is always richer at the surface. This ex- 
plains its rapidity of growth. Its maximum 
height in this country is about eighty feet, 
