CHAP. XXIV. SAPINDA'CEiE. KOLREUTE 'RJ^. 475 



Genus I. 



KOLREUTE^RTi Laxm. The Kolreuteria. Lin. Syst. Octandria 



Monogynia. 



Identification. Laxm. Acad. Petr. 16. p. 561. ; L'H^rit. Sert., 18. t. 19. ; Willd. Spec. PI., 330. ; 



Dec. Prod., 1. p. 616. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 672. 

 Synonyme. Sapi'iidus sp. Lin. Fil. 



Derivation. In honour of John Theophilus Kb'lreuier, once Professor of Natural History at Carls, 

 ruhe, and celebrated for his researches on the pollen of i)lants. 



Gen. Char., S^c. Calyx of 5 sepals. Petals 4, each with ^ scales at the base. 

 Ca-pside 3-celled, inflated. Seeds ovate-globose, the seed-coat penetrating 

 into the seed, and occupying in the place of an axis the centre of the em- 

 bryo, which is spirally convoluted. Leaves impari-pinnate, of many pairs of 

 leaflets that are ovate, and coarsely toothed. Flowers, yellow, in panicles. 

 {Dec, Prod., i. p. 616.) — A deciduous tree of the middle size. 



$ 1. K. paniculaVa Laxm. The -pdsacled-Jlowering Kolreuteria. 



Ideniificaiion. N. D. Ham., t. 56.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 616.; Hayne Dend. p. 45.; Don's Mill., 1 

 p. 672. 



Synonymes. Sapindus chiiiensis Lin. Fil. Supp., p. 221. ; K. paullinioides L'H^rit. Sert. ; Savonnier 



panicul^, Fr. ; rispentragende Kolreuterie, Ger. 

 Engravings. L'H(5rit. Sert, 18. t. 19. ; N. Du Ham., 1. 1. 36. ; Bot. Reg., t. 320. ; and the plate of 



the tree in our Second Volume. 



Description, History, ^c. A tree of the middle size, with a loose irregular 

 head, polygamous ; that is, sometimes hermaphrodite, and sometimes uni- 

 sexual : a native of China, and introduced in 1 763. It was first cultivated at 

 Croome, in Worcestershire, by the Earl of Coventry ; and, being highly orna- 

 mental, both from its large compound leaves and fine loose terminal spikes of 

 yellow flowers, it is to be found in most collections. Considering that it is a 

 native of China, it is very hardy ; the hermaphrodite plants not unfrequently 

 ripening seeds in the neighbourhood of London. It has not only a very fine 

 appearance when in flower, but also in autumn, when the tree is covered with 

 its large bladdery capsules, and the leaves change to a deep yellow, which they 

 do before they fall off. It was introduced into France in 1789, and is per- 

 fectly hardy in the neighbourhood of Paris, and also in the south of Geruiany. 

 It is of the easiest culture in any common soil, and is readily propagated 

 either by seeds or cuttings of the root or branches. In the London nurseries, 

 it is generally propagated b}' seed. Though there are trees of this species of 

 considerable size, both in Britain and on the Continent, we have never heard 

 anything of the quality of its wood; which, from the prevalence of a yel'ow 

 colour in its foHage and flowers, may probably be of a fine colour, and yie.s, a 

 yellow dye. The tree ought to be in every collection, on account of the beauty 

 of its leaves, flowers, and fruit. In a young state, it is sometimes seen 

 with a ragged head, owing to the young shoots dying back, after wet summers 

 and cold autumns ; but, as it gets older, it makes shorter shoots, and these 

 have more time to ripen. Accordingl}', old trees have generally much hand- 

 somer heads than young ones. The general contour of these heads is hemi- 

 spherical, as may be seen by the fine old specimens at Kew, in the Fulham 

 Nursery, and in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. 



Siatislics. In the environs of London, the largest tree is at Ham House, where it is 42ft. high 

 and the diameter of the trunk, at 1 ft, from the ground, is 16 in. ; at Kew, it is 30 ft. high • in the 

 Fulham Nursery, 25 ft. ; at Fulham Palace, 17 years planted, it is 20 ft. high ; at Syon, 20 ft high • in 

 Berkshire, at White Knights, 25 years planted, and 23 ft. high; in Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt 

 6 years planted, and 11 ft. high ; in StafFordshire, at Alton Towers, 10 years planted, and 10 ft. high 

 in Yorkshire, in the Hull Botanic Garden, 12 years planted, and 8 ft. high. In Scotland, in Lawson's 

 Nursery, Edinburgh, 4 years planted, and 4 ft. high ; in Sutherlandshire, at Dunrobin Castle 20 ft 

 high. In Ireland, in the environs of Dublin, at Castletown, 15 ft. high ; in the Glasnevin Botanic 

 Garden, 20 years planted, and 12 ft. high ; at Terenure, 10 years planted, and 6 ft. high ; at Oriel Temple 

 25 years planted, and 30 ft. high. In France, in the Jardin des Plaiites, 30 years planted and '^oft 



