MACHILUS NANMU. NANMU TREE. 
Photograph taken "by Mr. E. H. Wilson, collector for 
the Arnold Arboretum, near Shih-Fang Hsien, Western Szechuan, 
China, May 19, 1908. This tree which grows in the moist cli- 
mate of Szechuan, in about the latitude of New Orleans, fur- 
nishes some of the most highly prized timber used by the 
Chinese. The Imperial palaces are finished- in this wood, the 
coffins of the rich, constructed of massive planks, are usually 
made of this wood, which is rapidly becoming scarce in its na- 
tive region because of its slow growth. As the tree reaches a 
height of more than a hundred feet with a diameter of five feet 
it produces a large amount of timber per tree, but its slow 
growth may make it unprofitable except as an ornamental tree in 
this country. The first introduction of the seed has been so 
recent that we are not yet in position to say as to what part 
of the country it may be best suited for,* but the very moist 
climate of Szechuan indicates that a considerable degree of hu- 
midity will be required. Plant Introduction No. 29485. 
