CHAP. XLI. 



LEGUMlNA'CEiE. GLEDl'TSCHJX 



653 



£ 2. G. (t.) monospe'rma Walt. The one-seeded Gleditschia, or Water 



Locust. 



Identification. Walt. Car., 254. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p 479. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 428. 



Synonymes. G. carolinensis Lam. Diet., 2. p. 464. ; G. aquatica Marsh. ; G. triacantha Gart. Fruct., 



2 p 149 

 Engravings. Mill. Icon., 5. ; and our fig. 364. ; in which the male flower, the pod, and the seed, arc 

 of the natural size. 



Spec. Char., $c. Spines slender, not rarely trifid, few. Leaflets ovate-oblong, 

 acute. Legumes flattish, roundish, 1-seeded. {Dec. Prod., ii. p. 479.) A 

 deciduous tree of the largest size, a native of moist woods of Carolina, 

 Florida, and the Illinois. Introduced in 1723, and flowering in June 

 July. 



Description. This tree, according 

 to Michaux, is very distinct from 

 G. triacanthos in the form of its 

 fruits ; which, instead of being long 

 siliques, are flat round pods, con- 

 taining only a single seed in each. 

 In other respects, it closely resem- 

 bles the honey locust, from which, 

 in England, where neither of them 

 ripens seeds, we consider it almost 

 impossible to distinguish it. It grows 

 to the height of 60 ft. or 80 ft. ; and 

 the bark, though smooth when the 

 tree is young, yet cracks and scales 

 off when the tree grows old, as in 

 G. triacanthos. The leaves, Michaux 

 says, differ from those of G. triacanthos, in being a little smaller in all their 

 proportions. The branches are armed with thorns, which are also less 

 numerous, and somewhat smaller than those of G. triacanthos. 



Geography, History, fyc. G. monosperma is found but sparingly in North 

 America. Whole days may be passed in going through a country abounding 

 with the common species, without seeing a single plant of G. monosperma. 

 It is found in the south of Carolina, in Georgia, and in East Florida ; and 

 always in rich moist soil ; or in swamps which border rivers, and are occa- 

 sionally overflowed by them. In such soils, it is found growing among 

 Taxodium distichum, Nyss« grandidentata, ^Tcer rubrum, Quercus lyrata, 

 Planera crenata, Juglans cinerea, and other species requiring deep, rich, 

 moist soil. The tree was introduced into England in 1723, by Mark Catesby, 

 and treated in all respects like G. triacanthos ; of which it has, till lately, been 

 considered only a variety. It is raised in the nurseries from imported seed ; 

 but whether the plants really turn out perfectly distinct, with respect to the 

 form of their fruit, is uncertain ; from their not having yet, as far as we 

 know, fruited in England. We think it probable that the peculiarity of the 

 fruit will be reproduced from seed in most cases; and we should not be 

 more surprised at its doing so, than at particular varieties of pears and 

 apples coming true from seed. It does not appear to have produced seeds 

 in France, where it is not much cultivated, as it is thought to be more liable 

 to injury from frost than G. triacanthos. 



Statistics. The largest tree in the neighbourhood of London bearing this name is at Syon, where it 

 is 80 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 2 ft, and of the head 40 ft. ; and at Gunnersbury Park there is 

 a tree 60 ft. high. In France, near Paris, at Sceaux, 50 ft. high. In Austria, at Vienna, in the Bo- 

 tanic Garden, 22 years planted, and 36 ft. high ; at Laxenburg, 16 years planted, and 20 ft. high. In 

 Hanover, in the Botanic Garden at GOttingen, 25 years planted, and 30ft. high. Price of pods, 

 in the London nurseries, 2s. a quart, and of plants from 2s. to 2s. 6d. each ; at New York, plants are 

 50 cents each. 



If 3. G. (t.) brachyca'rpa Pursh. The short-fruited Gleditschia. 



Identification. Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 221. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 479. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 428. 



Synonymes. G. triacanthos (3 Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 257. 



Spec. Char., tyc. Spines thick, short, not rarely three together. Leaflets oblong, obtuse. Legumes 

 oblong, short. A native of the Alleghany Mountains, and of Virginia. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 479.) 

 This sort, we are inclined to agree with Michaux in thinking only a variety of G. triacanthos. 



