494 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



It grows to the height of 6 ft. 

 or 8 ft. Though this species 

 was cultivated by the elder 

 Tradescant, it has never be- 

 come very common in British 

 gardens. It is propagated either 

 by seeds or cuttings. Plants, 

 in London, cost 1*. 6d. each ; 

 at Bollwyller, 1 franc; and at 

 New York, 25 cents. 



and our fig. 163. 



a 2. S. pinna v r a L. The pinnated-/eaw<?d Staphylea, or Bladder-nut Tree. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 386. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 3. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 3. 



Synonymes. Staphylodendron pinnatum Ray ; Staphilier a Feuilles ailees, Fr. ; gemeine Pimper- 



nuss, Ger. 

 Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1560. ; Hayne Abbild., t. 36. ; E. of PI., ; 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves pinnate, of 5 — 7 

 oblong, perfectly glabrous, serrated leaflets ; 

 the flowers in racemes ; the capsules mem- 

 braneous and bladdery. {Dec. Prod., ii. 

 p. 3.) A deciduous shrub, with leaves 

 somewhat like those of the ash or the 

 elder ; a native of Europe, in hedges and 

 thickets; and generally considered indi- 

 genous to England ; though, according to 

 Ray, it was scarcely found in sufficient 

 plenty to be deemed certainly wild. Smith 

 describes it {Eng. Flor., ii. p. 111.) as a 

 smooth branching shrub, throwing up 

 many side suckers. In gardens, it is to 

 be found from 6 ft. to 12 ft. high, and 

 exhibiting a much more luxuriant growth than the preceding species; 

 and forming a singular object, when in fruit, from its large bladdery 

 capsules. Each of these capsules contains a hard smooth nut, which, 

 in some parts of Europe, is strung as a bead by the Roman Catholics. 

 Haller says that the kernels taste like those of the pistacia, and are 

 eaten in Germany by children ; and this appears to have been formerly the 

 case in England; for Gerard says the kernels, though sweet at first, are 

 succeeded by a nauseous taste, and, finally, they act as an emetic. The 

 wood is hard, of a yellowish white, and close grained ; but it is seldom 

 found of a sufficient size to be applied to any useful purpose. The flowers 

 contain a great deal of honey, and are very attractive to bees. In the 

 London nurseries, the plant is generally cultivated by side suckers, by 

 cuttings put in during the month of September, or by seeds, which are 

 ripened in abundance. The seeds ought to be sown as soon as they are 

 ripe; because, as they contain an oil, they very soon become rancid. They 

 should not be covered with more than half an inch of soil. They will come 

 up the following June, with two large, lance-shaped, seminal leaves ; though 

 sometimes they do not come up for two years. Price as in the preceding. 



App. i. Half-hardy Species of Staphylea. 



* S. Bumd.lda.Dec. has leaves like S. trifblia, and white nodding flowers. It is a native of the 

 mountains of Japan, and was introduced in 1812. 



« 8. heterophylla Ruiz et Pav. has leaves like S. pinnata. It is a native of Peru, where it grows 

 to the height of 12 ft. 



END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 



LONDON: Printed by A. Spottiswoodk, New-Street-Square. 



