76 



WEEDS AXD USEFUL PLA^sTS. 



leaflets in 4 - 5 pairs and an odd one ; calyx none ; petals 5 ; pistils 

 3 - 5 ; pod short stalked ; flowers appearing with the leaves. 



Ameeican Zaisthoxylum. Northern Prickly Ash. Toothache Tree 

 Yellow Wood. 



Shrub 4-8 feet liigh. St&ns prickly, the stronger prickles mostly in pairs at the base of 

 the leaves. Leaflets 1-2 inches long, downy when j^oung, becoming smooth above when 

 old. Flowers sometimes polygamous. Pods about the size of a pepper-corn, with a 

 brown or reddish tinge, pitted, fragrant with a lemon-like odor when rubbed. Seed 

 solitary. 



Kiver banks and rocky woods, north and west. April -May. 



Ohs. In its wild state this shrub forms low thickets, but when cul- 

 tivated and trimmed it forms a small tree sometimes 20 feet high. It 

 has been proposed as a hedge plant, but we are not aware that any 

 experiments have been made to test its value for this purpose. All 

 parts of the plant are aromatic, and the bark is used in medicine ; this 

 when chewed has a sweetish aromatic taste which becomes bitter and 

 acrid, causing a flow of saliva ; it has been used for the tooth-ache, 

 whence one of its popular names. An infusion is used in domestic 

 medicine, in the treatment of rheumatism and in cholic, &c. 



2. Z. Carolmian'um, Lam. Leaflets 3-5 pairs and an odd one, ovate 

 lanceolate, inequilateral, shining above ; flowers in terminal cymes, ap- 

 pearing after the leaves ; sepals and petals 5 ; pistils 3 ; pods sessile ; 

 prickles very sharp. 



Caeolina Zaxthoxylum. Southern Prickly Ash. 



Shrub or small ti'ee 6-20 feet high and 6-10 inches in diameter. Grows in sandy soil along 

 the sea coasts of the Southern States. Properties similar to the preceding. 



3. AIL AN 'THUS, Desf. 



[From Ailanto, the name it bears m its native country.] 



Calyx 5-toothed. Petals 5, inserted with the 10 stamens under a hypo- 

 gynous disk. Carpels 3-5, samaroid, tumid in the centre, 1-celled, 

 1-seeded. Stigmas capitate, radiately 5-lobed. Flowers dioeciously 

 polygamous. 



1. A. GLANDULo'sA, Des/'. Lcavcs odd-piunate ; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, coarsely dentate at base, with a gland on the under side of 

 each tooth. 



Glandulae Ailanthus. Chinese Sumach. Tree of Heaven. Tillow 

 or Tallow Tree. 



stem 30-60 feet or more high, much branched, young branches never multiplying during 

 growth but developed only from the buds of the proceeding year. Leaves (on young trees 

 especially) much elongated and consisting of many pairs (15-20) of smooth leaflets, which 

 are 3-5 inches in length and entire, except a pair or two of coarse teeth at base. Flowers 

 pale greenish yellow, in terminal open thyrsoia panicles. 



Cultivated as a shade tree. Native of China. iJ'L June. i^-. Sept. -Oct. 



Obs. Perhaps no tree has been the subject of as much newspaper 

 discussion as the Ailanthus, and there is much to be said for and against 



