FOREST TREES. 103 
KOELREUTERIA. 
Natural Order, Sapindacee. 
Calyx, five-parted; petals, four, each with two 
scales at the base; capsule, inflated, three-celled ; 
leaves, alternate, pinnate; leaflets, ovate, coarsely- 
toothed; flowers, yellow, in panicles. 
Koelreuteria paniculata—Koelreuteria. 
This tree is a native of China, and is the only 
species known. It never exceeds the middle size, 
sometimes reaching the height of forty feet or more, 
but commonly of smaller stature. Its large, com- 
pound leaves, and large panicles of yellow flowers, 
which are produced in abundance in July and August, 
render it highly ornamental, and deserving a place 
in every collection of trees. It is quite hardy in 
most of the Northern States. In the rich soils of 
Northern Illinois, the young wood on small trees is 
occasionally injured in consequence of immature 
growth. This rarely, if ever, occurs after they have 
reached the height of ten or twelve feet, the shoots 
being then shorter, and the wood ripening better. 
The wood of the Koelreutgria is hard, and fine- 
grained, but as the tree is not common, and has 
hitherto been cultivated for ornament only, nothing 
is known in regard to its utility in the arts. The 
seeds are produced in large, inflated capsules, and 
readily germinate when sown in spring. The tree 
may also be propagated by layers and cuttings of the 
roots. 
