266 THE NUT CULTUEIST. 



folia of some nurserymen's catalogues and many recent 

 botanical works. The former, however, is the older 

 and correct scientific name. This tree is a native of 

 China and Japan, and of a slender, sparsely branched 

 habit, growing from fifty to eighty feet high in its native 

 countries. It is a deciduous, cone-bearing {Ooniferm) 

 tree, with two-lobed, fan-shaped leaves two to three 

 inches broad, divided about halfway down from the top. 

 The male and female flowers are on separate trees, and 

 to secure seed or nuts both sexes must be grown near 

 together. The ginkgo was introduced into European 

 gardens in 1754, and there are now many fruiting speci- 

 mens, especially in France, from whence the nuts have 

 long been secured for planning, by nurserymen and 

 others interested in tree culture. There are very few 

 bearing trees in this country, and one in Washington, 

 D. C, has been fruiting for a number of years. In 

 China and Japan the seeds or nuts are valued for their 

 edible qualities, but they have a kind of disagreeable, 

 balsamic taste in their raw state, although this is dis- 

 pelled by roasting, after which they are quite sweet and 

 palatable. As the trees do not begin to bear until of 

 considerable age, and the nuts are inferior to many other 

 kinds, I do not think the ginkgo will ever become very 

 popular in this country as a nut tree. 



GooEA NTJT. — See Cola nut. 



Gorgon nut. — See Fox nut. 



Groundnut. — The small, globular tubers of the 

 dwarf three-leaved ginseng, Aralia trifolia, are called 

 groundnuts in some of our Northern States, and they 

 are frequently sought for, dug up and eaten by children, 

 as I know from personal experience. The plant belongs 

 to the ginseng family {AraliacecB), and is closely related 

 to the true five-leaved ginseng {Aralia quinquefolia), 

 but our groundnut has only three leaves, instead of 

 five ; besides, it is a somewhat smaller plant, rarely more 



