THE ARBORETUM 
1 77 
Vines and 
Sumachs. 
under glass. The genus to which it belongs is widely spread over both 
hemispheres, and of the hardy sorts there are between forty and fifty, 
several of them popular in gardens for the great beauty 
of their autumn foliage. Opposite the vines are various 
species of sumach (Rhus). Most important among them 
in an economic sense is the lacquer tree of Japan ( Rhus vernicifera). 
R. Cotinus is an ornamental species known as the “ smoke plant,” 
from the curious cloud-like appearance of its inflorescence. Two 
remarkable species — dangerous, too, when cut, to those who do not 
know them — are the poison ivy ( R . Toxicodendron) and the poison 
sumach (R. venenata). Both have a singularly virulent juice, pro- 
ducing painful blisters and eczema-like eruptions. The foliage of 
most of the sumachs assumes brilliant tints in autumn. 
Leaving the Ruined Arch (1759) on our left, we approach the 
Refreshment Pavilion, around which are planted the horse-chest- 
nut and its allies. The common horse-chestnut, the 
Qiesf' t mos t beautiful in its flowers of all the large trees, was 
introduced to England about the middle of the six- 
teenth century. It was known to have reached Western Europe 
by way of Constantinople, but for more than 250 years its native 
country remained unknown. Now we know that it grows wild in 
the mountains of Northern Greece. About a dozen species belonging 
to this genus are growing here, most of them ornamental in foliage 
as well as in flower. 
We have now reached one of the most attractive of all the groups 
of hardy flowering trees and shrubs, the great natural order of Legu- 
minosse, the family to which the broom and gorse 
belong. They fill the area between the Pagoda Vista 
and the boundary wall on Kew Road, the Refreshment Pavilion 
marking the north extremity, the Pagoda and Rose Garden the south. 
During the flowering season, which lasts throughout April, May, and 
June, they make this part of the garden very gay. The trees among 
them with a notable beauty of flower are the Robinias (“acacias”), 
with white- and rose-coloured blossoms ; the Sophoras (white) ; and 
the laburnums (yellow). Remarkable for their formidably-armed 
trunks and large scimitar-shaped seed-pods are the “ honey-locusts ” 
(Gleditschias). The Kentucky coffee-tree ( Gymnocladus canadensis) 
is a striking tree, with noble foliage. Here are growing all the species 
and varieties of Wistaria. W. chinensis, most gorgeous of climbers, 
Leguminosae. 
