The Buckeyes. 255 



1008. The Sweet oe Big Buckete (JEsculm flavd). This oc- 

 curs in the Western States and on the mountains in the Southern 

 States, as a tree from 60 to 80 feet in height, and 3 to 4 feet in di- 

 ameter. TJpon the lowlands in the south it is a shrub from 3 to 6 

 feet high. It prefers the banks of rivers, and is an indication of a 

 rich soil. The seeds are larger than those of the common horse- 

 chestnut. 



1009. The Small Buckeye {JEsaulus pavia). This is a shrub 

 from 3 to 10 feet high, found growing in fertile valleys from Vir- 

 ginia southward to Georgia, and westward to Arkansas. It some- 

 times grows to a small tree. The root is used as a substitute for 

 soap. 



1010. The JEscidus parviflora is a small shrub found in South 

 Carolina and Georgia, from 2 to 4 feet high, with a fruit said to be 

 edible. 



1011. The Caifoenia Buckeye (^sculus Califomiea). This is 

 a shrub seldom growing more than twenty feet high, or more than 

 a foot in diameter. It puts forth flowers in successive crops during 

 most of the spring and summer, and for this reasjn may be desir- 

 able for ornamental planting, although of no account as a timber- 

 tree, as its wood is soft and brittle. It occurs from San Luis Obispo 

 to Mendocino Co. and Mt. Shasta, and on the foot-hills of the Sierra 

 Nevada Mountains. 



1012. The Texas Buckeye (Ungnadia spedosa). This occurs 

 in Texas, where it forms a small shrub or tree, with brittle wood, 

 alternate and unequally pinnate leaves, and showy rose-colored blos- 

 soms. The seeds are sweet-tasted like the walnuts, but are said to 

 possess emetic properties. It somewhat resembles the hickories in 

 its leaves, but more the horse-chestnut in its fruit. 



1013. The Soapberry {Sapindns saponaria). This is a small 

 tree, growing upon the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, from 

 20 to 50 feet in height. It derives its name from the soap-like 



■properties of the fruit, which, when pounded up, forms a lather 

 with soft water, and may be used instead of soap. When bruised 

 and thrown into water, the fruit will intoxicate fish. This tree be- 

 longs to the same family as the buckeyes. There are one or two 

 other species in the southwest. There are about forty species of the 

 Sapindus known, chiefly found in the tropical and sub-tropical cli- 

 mates, in which alone it can be cultivated with success. 



