Part 14 (1/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. trifoliata.]

=Ptelea trifoliata=, L. (HOP-TREE. SHRUBBY TREFOIL.) Leaflets ovate, pointed, downy when young. Flowers with a disagreeable odor; fruit bitter, somewhat like hops. A tall shrub, often, when cultivated, trimmed into a tree-like form. Wild, in rocky places, in southern New York and southward.

GENUS =14. Ph.e.l.lODeNDRON.=

Leaves opposite, odd-pinnate. Flowers dioecious; so only a portion of the trees bear the small, odoriferous, 5-seeded, drupe-like fruit.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. Amurense.]

=Ph.e.l.lodendron Amurense.= (CHINESE CORK-TREE.) Leaves opposite, odd-pinnate, 1 to 3 ft. long; leaflets 9 to many, lanceolate, sharply serrate, long-ac.u.minate. Flowers inconspicuous, dioecious, in loose-spreading cl.u.s.ters at the ends of the branches. The pistillate flowers form small, black, pea-shaped fruit, in loose, grape-like cl.u.s.ters, thickly covered with glands containing a bitter, aromatic oil, and remaining on the tree in winter. Medium-sized tree (20 to 40 ft.), with Ailanthus-like leaves which turn bright red in autumn, and remain long on the tree. Hardy as far north as central Ma.s.sachusetts.

ORDER =X. MELIaCEae.= (MELIA FAMILY.)

Tropical trees, including the Mahogany; represented in the south by the following:

GENUS =15. MeLIA.=

Trees with alternate, bipinnate leaves. The flowers are conspicuous and beautiful, in large panicles, in the spring. Fruit in large cl.u.s.ters of berry-like drupes, with a 5-celled stone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: M. Azedarach.]

=Melia Azedarach, L.= (CHINA-TREE. PRIDE OF INDIA.) Leaves very large, doubly pinnate, with many obliquely lance-ovate, ac.u.minate, smooth, serrate leaflets. Flowers small, lilac-colored, deliciously fragrant, in large axillary cl.u.s.ters. Fruit globular, as large as cherries, yellow when ripe in autumn; hanging on through the winter. A rather small (20 to 40 ft. high), rapidly growing, round-headed, popular shade-tree in the south, and hardy as far north as Virginia. Introduced from Persia.

GENUS =16. CEDReLA.=

Leaves large, alternate, deciduous, odd-pinnate. Flowers with separate petals, fragrant, white, in large cl.u.s.ters. Fruit 5-celled dehiscent pods, with many pendulous, winged seeds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: C. Sinensis.]

=Cedrela Sinensis.= (CHINESE CEDRELA.) Leaves large, odd-pinnate, alternate, appearing much like those of the Ailanthus, but with slight serrations near the tips of the leaflets, and no glands near the base.

Bruised leaves with a strong odor; footstalk and stout-tipped branches with glands. Large tree, seemingly hardy in New Jersey, but dies to the ground in winter in Ma.s.sachusetts. Recently introduced from China.

ORDER =XI. SIMARUBaCEae.= (QUa.s.sIA FAMILY.)

Eastern trees and shrubs, here represented by a single tree:

GENUS =17. AILaNTHUS.=

Large trees to shrubs, with alternate, odd-pinnate leaves. Flowers small, greenish, in large terminal panicles. Fruit broadly winged, like the Ash, but with the seed in the center.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A. glandulsus.]

=Ailanthus glandulsus=, Desf. (TREE OF HEAVEN.) Leaves very large, 2 to 5 ft. long on the younger growths; leaflets obliquely lanceolate, coa.r.s.ely toothed at the base, with a gland on the lower side at the point of each tooth; point of leaflets entire. Young twigs thick, rusty brown; buds very small in the axils. Only some of the trees have fruit, as some have only staminate flowers. The staminate flowers are very ill-scented. A rapid-growing tree, with useful hard wood; cultivated and naturalized; hardy throughout. See page 10.

ORDER =XII. ILICNEae.= (HOLLY FAMILY.)