Sect. V. CASSIE E. GLEDI'TSCHIA L. THE GLEDITSCHIA. Lin. Syst. Polygàmia Diœ`cia. Identification. Lin. Gen., 1159.; Lam. Ill., p. 857.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 479.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 428. Synonymes. Acacia sp. Pluk.; Févier; Fr., Gleditschie, Ger. Derivation. In honour of Gottlieb Gleditsch, of Leipsic, once a professor at Berlin, and defender of Linnæus against Siegesbeck; author of Methodus Fungorum (1753), Systema Plantarum a Staminum situ (1764), and many other smaller works. Description. Deciduous trees. Branchlets supra-axillary, and often converted into branched spines. Leaves abruptly pinnate; in the same species pinnate, bipinnate, or, rarely, by the coalition of the leaflets, almost simple. Flowers greenish, in spikes. Among the ovaries, it often happens, especially among those of the terminal flowers, that two grow together by their seedbearing suture, which is rather villose. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 479.) Deciduous trees of the 1st, 2d, and 3d ranks, natives of North America or China, of easy culture in good free soil; and, in Britain, generally propagated by imported seeds, or grafting. The species appear to be in a state of great confusion in British gardens; and, judging from the trees in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, and in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, we should conjecture that there is, probably, not more than two species, the American, and the Chinese; possibly only one. The Chinese species is distinguished by its trunk being more spiny than its branches. * 1. G. TRIACANTHOS Lin. The three-thorned Gleditschia, or Honey Locust. Engravings. N. Du Ham., 4. t. 25.; Michx. Fil. Arb., 2. p. 164. t. 10.; Hort. Ang., t. 21.; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 138.; Pluk. Mant., t. 352. f. 2. ; and the plates of this species in our Second Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Spines simple or trifid; stout, at the very base compressed, in the upper part cylindrical, but tapered. Leaflets linear-oblong. Legumes flattish, rather crooked, many-seeded, and more than ten times as long as broad. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 479.) A tree of from 50 ft. to 80 ft. high, a native of Carolina and Virginia. Introduced in 1700; flowering in June and July. G. t. 2 inermis Dec., G. læ'vis Hort., (Dec. Lég. Mém., 2. t. 22. fig. 109.; Catesb. Carol., 1. t. 43.; Pluk. Alm., t. 123. fig. 3.; and the plates of this variety in our Second Volume) has the stem and branches not spiny, or but very sparingly so. Description. The three-thorned gleditschia, or honey locust, in favourable situations in its native country, attains the height of 70 ft. or 80 ft., with a trunk 3 ft. or 4 ft. in diameter; and clear of branches to the height of 30 ft. or 40 ft. In Britain, there are specimens of about 70 ft. in height. The bark of the trunk and branches is of a grey colour; and of the shoots and spines, when young, of a purplish brown. When the tree attains some age, the bark of the trunk detaches itself laterally, in plates of 3 in. or 4 in. in width, and 2 or 3 lines in thickness. The trunk and branches, when the tree is young, are covered with large prickles, which, though they are not ligneous, become hard, and remain on for several years, and offer a formidable defence. These prickles are not only produced by the young wood, but occasionally protrude themselves from the trunk, even when the tree is of considerable bulk and age. In general, the trunk presents a twisted appearance, and the branches proceed from it rather horizontally than in an upright direction. The pinnated foliage is particularly elegant, and of an agreeable light shining green: it appears late in spring, the trees in the neighbourhood of London sometimes not being fully clothed till the middle or end of June; and it begins to turn yellow, and drop off, early in autumn. The flowers are inconspicuous; the male flowers being in the form of catkin-like racemes of nearly the same colour as the leaves. As far as we have observed, most of the plants in the neighbourhood of London produce only male flowers; and we have not heard of any plant of this species having produced seeds in England, except those mentioned by Miller, which, however, did not ripen; though we have seen trees at Alfort, near Paris, bearing their long crooked legumes, and retaining them even after the leaves had dropped. These crooked pendulous pods are from 12 in. to 18 in. long, and of a reddish brown colour; they contain hard, smooth, brown seeds, enveloped in a pulpy substance, which, for about a month after the maturity of the seeds, is very sweet, but which, after a few weeks, becomes extremely sour. The rate of growth of this tree, for the first 15 or 20 years, is generally about the average of a foot a year; but in favourable situations it will grow at double that rate. In the garden of the London Horticultural Society, and in the arboretum of the Messrs. Loddiges, plants 10 years planted were, in 1835, from 20 ft. to 25 ft. in height. Geography. The sweet locust does not appear to have a very extensive range in the United States. It seems to belong more particularly to the country west of the Alleghanies; and it is scarcely found in any part of the Atlantic states, unless it be in Limestone Valley, where the soil is generally rich, and the situation not exposed. In the fertile bottoms which are watered by the rivers that empty themselves into the Mississippi, in the Illinois, and still more in the southern parts of Kentucky and Tennessee, it is abundant in fertile soils. It is generally found growing with Juglans nigra and Carya squamòsa, Ulmus rùbra, Fráxinus quadrangulàta, Robínia Pseùd-Acàcia, Negundo fraxinifòlium, and Gymnócladus canadensis. It is never found but in good soil; and its presence, Michaux observes, is an infallible sign of the greatest degree of fertility. History. The tree was first cultivated in England, by Bishop Compton, in 1700; and Miller informs us, that it produced pods in the Palace Garden at Fulham, in the year 1728, that came to their full size; but the seeds did not ripen. In Martyn's Miller, only one species is described, G. triacánthos; G. monosperma and G. hórrida being made varieties of it, and G. polysperma the normal form of the species. G. triacánthos was known in France in the time of Du Hamel, who recommends it as an ornamental tree, but liable to have its branches broken by the wind, more especially when the tree becomes forked at the summit, and two branches of equal size spread out on each side. In England, it was never recommended to be planted with any other view than as an ornamental tree, till Cobbett became a nurseryman, and suggested its use as a hedge plant. We do not know whether it has ever been tried for this purpose in England; but Manetti informs us (Gard. Mag., vol. xi. p. 643.) that it was used for hedges in Lombardy, but, like the robinia, when tried for the same purpose, it was soon given up. (See p. 620.) Properties and Uses. The wood of this tree, when dry, weighs at the rate of 52 lb. the cubic foot: it is very hard, and splits with great facility, resembling in this and other respects the wood of the robinia; but its grain is coarser, and its pores more open. The tree is most abundant in Kentucky; and there only the wood is employed for any useful purpose, though even there it is but little esteemed. It is used neither by the builder, nor the wheelwright, but is sometimes employed by farmers for fences, when they cannot procure any more durable kind of wood. Michaux says that the only useful purpose for which he thinks the tree is fit, is for making hedges; but, as we have already seen, it has not succeeded as a hedge plant in Europe. A sugar has been extracted from the pulp of the pods, and a beer made by fermenting it while fresh; but this practice is by no means general, even in America, and is quite unsuitable for Europe. In Britain, this species, and all the others of the genus, can only be considered as ornamental trees; but in that character they hold the first rank; their delicate acacia-like foliage, and the singularly varied, graceful, and picturesque forms assumed by the tree, more especially when young or middle-aged, together with the singular feature afforded by its spines, will always recommend it in ornamental plant ations. Soil and Situation, Propagation, &c. It requires a deep, rich, free soil, and a situation not exposed to high winds; the climate ought, also, to be somewhat favourable, otherwise the wood will not ripen; and it requires the climate of the south of England, or the summers of France, to ripen the seeds. The species is always propagated by seeds imported from America, or from the south of France, or Italy; for, though seed pods are seldom seen hanging from the trees in the neighbourhood of London, or even in the south of England, they are produced abundantly in various parts of France, even in the neighbourhood of Paris; and seeds are ripened in fine seasons in Austria. Cobbett directs the seeds to be prepared for sowing by soaking them for 12 hours, as directed for those of the robinia. (See p. 624.) The seeds, he says, when soaked and sown in March, will come up in a fortnight. They are best transplanted to where they are finally to remain when quite young; as they make but few fibrous roots, and these take, for the most part, a descending direction. The variety G. t. inérmis can only be insured by grafting on the species. In general, however, abundance of plants without spines may be selected from beds of seedlings of G. triacánthos. Statistics. Gleditschia triacánthos in the Environs of London. At Syon there is a tree 57 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 63 ft. ; see the plate of this tree in Vol. II. In the garden of J. Nichols, Esq., (the Chancellor's, Queen Street,) Hammersmith, there is a tree of this species 47 ft. high, with a trunk 14 in. in diameter. At Purser's Cross, it is 40 ft. high; at Ham House, 30 ft. high. At Kenwood, 38 years planted, it is 44 ft high; in the Mile End Nursery, 38 ft. high. Gleditschia triacánthos South of London. In Dorsetshire, at Melbury Park, 25 years planted, and 25 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 10 in. In Surrey, at Lady Tankerville's, at Walton on Thames, 60 years planted, and 65ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 60 ft. Gleditschia triacánthos North of London. In Monmouthshire, at Tredegar House, 50 years planted, and 40 ft. high. In Oxfordshire, in the Oxford Botanic Garden, 40 years planted, and 30 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 11 in., and of the head 20 ft. In Suffolk, at Ampton Hall, 15 years planted, and 25 ft. high. In Warwickshire, at Whitley Abbey, 5 years planted, and 12 ft. high. În Worcestershire, at Croome, 30 years planted, and 40 ft. high. In Yorkshire, at Grimstone, 52 ft. high. At Knedlington, 10 years from the seed, 13 ft. high. Gleditschia triacánthos in Scotland. In Berwickshire, at the Hirsel, 6 years planted, and 8 ft. high. In Haddingtonshire, at Tyningham, 16 years planted, and $4 ft. high. In Ross-shire, at Brahan Castle, 20 ft. high. In Renfrewshire, in the Glasgow Botanic Garden, the tree is planted against a wall, but is generally killed down to the ground every year. In Sutherlandshire, at Dunrobin Castle, 16 years planted, 10 ft. high. At Gleditschia triacanthos in Ireland. At Cypress Grove, 15 years planted, and 20 ft. high. Terenure, 15 years planted, and 10 ft. high. In Cullenswood Nursery, 20 years planted, and 50 ft. high. In Down, at Moira, near Belfast, 55 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 3 in., and of the head 36 ft. Gleditschia triacanthos in Foreign Countries. In France, at Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, 100 years planted, and 80 ft. high, and the diameter of the trunk 2ft.; in the Botanic Garden at Toulon, 50 years planted, and 70 ft. high; at Colombier, near Metz, 70 years planted, and 55 ft. high, with a clear trunk of 30 ft.; at Nantes, in the nursery of M. De Nerrières, 40 years planted, and 50 ft. high. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 46 years planted, and 40 ft. high. In Austria, near Vienna, at Laxen. burg, 40 years planted, and 25 ft. high; at Brück on the Leytha, 45 years planted, and 47 ft. high. In Prussia, at Sans Souci, 45 years planted, and 50 ft. high. In Bavaria, at Munich, in the Bo tanic Garden, 24 years planted, and 30 ft high. In Cassel, at Wilhelmshoe, 12 years planted, and 8 ft. high. In Denmark, at Droningaard, 40 years planted, and 16 ft. high. In Sweden, at Lund, 12 ft. high. In Russia, in the Crimea, the tree ripened seeds in 1827, and again in 1828 and 1829, from which young plants have been raised. (Mém. de la Soc. Econ. Rar. de la Russ. Mérid., 1. p. 40.) In Italy, in Lombardy, at Monza, 29 years planted, and 30 ft. high. Gleditschia triacanthos inermis. In England, in the environs of London, at Syon, 72 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 4 in., and of the head 71 ft.: see the plate of this noble tree in our Second Volume. In Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt, 8 years planted, and 17 ft high. In Warwickshire, at Whitley Abbey, 6 years planted, and 14 ft. high. In France, at Martefontaine, 46 ft. high; and in the Toulon Botanic Garden, 36 years planted, and 50 ft. high. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 35 years planted, and 30 ft. high. In Austria, at Laxenburg, near Vienna, 16 years planted, and 20 ft. high; at Brück on the Leytha, 40 years planted, and 45 ft. high. In Hanover, in the Botanic Garden at Göttingen, 25 years planted, and 30 ft. high." Commercial Statistics. One year's seedling plants of the species, in the London nurseries, are 10s. per1000; trees 6 ft. high, from 2s. to 2s. 6d. each; and seeds are 4s. per packet; and plants of G. t. inérmis are 2s. 6d. each. At Bollwyller, plants of the species are 1 franc each; and of G. t. inérmis, 1 franc 50 cents. At New York, plants of the species are from 25 cents to 50 cents each, and of the variety, G. t. inérmis, 50 cents; and seeds of the species are 1 dollar per lb. 2. G. (T.) MONOSPERMA 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. Dict., 2. p. 464.; G. aquática Marsh.; G. triacantha Gært. Fruct., 2. p. 149. Engravings. Mill. Icon., 5. ; and our fig. 364.; in which the male flower, the pod, and the seed, are 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. triacánthos in the form of its fruits; which, instead of being long siliques, are flat round pods, containing only a single seed in each. In other respects, it closely resembles 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. triacánthos. The leaves, Michaux says, differ from those of G. triacánthos, 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. triacánthos. Geography, History, &c. 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 occasionally overflowed by them. In such soils, it is found growing among Taxodium distichum, Nýssa grandidentàta, Acer rubrum, Quércus lyràta, Plánera 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. triacánthos; 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. triacánthos. 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 2ft, and of the head 40 ft.; and at Gunnersbury Park there is a tree 60 ft. high. In France, near Paris, at Scéaux, 50 ft. high. In Austria, at Vienna, in the Botanic Garden, 22 years planted, and 36 ft. high; at Laxenburg, 16 years planted, and 20 ft. high. In Hanover, in the Botanic Garden at Göttingen, 25 years planted, and 30 ft. 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. 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 8 Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 257. Spec. Char., &c. 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. triacánthos, Identification. Lam. Dict., 2. p. 465.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 479.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 428. Synonymes. G. hórrida Willd. Sp., 4. p. 1098.; Févier de la Chine, Fr. Engravings. Dec. Légum. Mém., 1. t. 1.; and the plate of this species in our Second Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Spines stout, conical; those on the branches simple or branched; those on the stem grouped and branched. The leaflets ovateelliptical, obtuse. Legumes compressed, long. A native of China. The spines in this species are axillary, not distant from the axil. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 479.) A deciduous tree, very distinct, according to Desfontaines, from the American species. The spines, which are very strong and branchy, are more abundant on the trunk than on the branches, and are frequently found in bundles. The leaves are bipinnate, and the leaflets are elliptic obtuse, notched on the edges, smooth, shining, and much larger than those of any other species. (Desf. Arb., ii. p. 248.) The pods are rarely above 6 in. long. The tree stands the cold better than the honey locust, and has ripened its fruit in Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, and in the nursery of M. Cels. (Dict. des Eaux et des Forêts, vol. ii. p. 150.) The rate of growth, judging from young trees in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, and in the arboretum of the Messrs. Loddiges, is nearly the same as that of G. triacánthos. A full-grown tree of this species in the grounds at Syon, under the name of G. hórrida, 54 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and of the head 54 ft., is figured in our Second Volume. It is of less height, and with a more spreading head, than the American species in the same pleasure-grounds. It was introduced in 1774, and is generally propagated, in the British nurseries, by grafting on the common species. Varieties. G. s. 2 inermis N. Du Ham., G. japónica Lodd. Cat., G. javánica Lam., (see the plate of this tree in our Second Volume,) only differs from G. sinensis in being without spines, and being a less vigorousgrowing tree. It seems a very desirable variety for small gardens. G. s. 3 major Hort., G. hórrida màjor Lodd. Cat., seems scarcely to differ from the species. * G. s. 4 nàna Hort., G. h. nàna in Hort. Soc. Gard., (see the plate of this tree in our Second Volume,) is a tree of somewhat lower growth than the species, but scarcely, as it appears to us, worth keeping distinct. * G. s. 5 purpurea Hort., G. h. purpùrea Lodd. Cat., (see our plate in Vol. II.,) is a small tree of compact upright growth, very suitable for gardens of limited extent. Other Varieties of G. sinensis. In Loddiges's arboretum there is a plant marked G. chinensis (Potts), which was imported from China by the London Horticultural Society. It is, at present, a low bush, and may, perhaps, prove something distinct. There were also, in 1835, in the Horticultural Society's Garden, some plants without names, apparently belonging to this species; but, as we have already observed, the genus is in great confusion, and nothing perfectly satisfactory can be stated respecting it. Statistics. The largest tree of this species in the neighbourhood of London is that at Syon, 54 ft. high, before noticed; in the Mile End Nursery is one 47 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 8 in., and of the head 46 ft.; in Dorsetshire, at Melbury Park, is one 26 years planted, and 25 ft. high; in Sussex, at West Dean, 14 years planted, and 42 ft high; in Wiltshire, at Longford Castle, 25 years planted, and 25 ft. high; in Berkshire, at White Knights, 24 years planted, and 20 ft. high; in Suffolk, at Amp. ton Hall, 15 years planted, and 22 ft. high. In Scotland, in Lawson's Nursery, at Edinburgh, 10 years planted, and 12 ft. high; in the Perth Nursery, 25 years planted, and 74 ft. high. In Ireland, in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden at Dublin, 20 years planted, and 12ft. high. In France, in Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, 40 ft. high; at Nerrières, in the grounds of M. Vilmorin, 20 years planted, and 20 ft. high; in the Botanic Garden at Toulon, 50 years planted, and 36 ft high. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 36 years planted, and 30 ft. high; in Austria, at Vienna, ín Rosenthal's Nursery, 17 years planted, and 20 ft. high. In Prussia, at Sans Souci, 10 years planted, and 16 ft. high. In Hanover, in the Botanic Garden at Göttingen, 25 years planted, and 30 ft. high. 5. G. (S.) MACRACANTHA Desf. The long-spined Gleditschia. Identification. Desf. Arb., 2. p. 246.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 428. |