Trees of the Northern United States Part 29

=Maclura aurantaca=, Nutt. (OSAGE ORANGE. BOW-WOOD.) Leaves rather thick, ovate to ovate-oblong, almost entire, smooth and shining above, strong-veined and paler beneath, 4 in. long by 2 in. wide; spines simple, about 1 in. long. Fruit as large as an orange, golden-yellow when ripe. A medium-sized tree, 20 to 50 ft. high; native west of the Mississippi. Extensively cultivated for hedges, and also for ornament, throughout.

GENUS =78. MRUS.=

Trees with milky juice and alternate, deciduous, exstipulate, broad, heart-shaped, usually rough leaves. Flowers inconspicuous; in spring.

Fruit blackberry-like in shape and size; in summer.

* Leaves rough; fruit dark-colored 1.

* Leaves smooth and shining; fruit white to black 2.

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

1. =Mrus rubra=, L. (RED MULBERRY.) Leaves broad, heart-shaped, 4 to 6 in. long, serrate, rough above and downy beneath, pointed; on the young shoots irregularly lobed. Fruit dark red, almost purple when ripe, cylindrical; not found on all the trees, as the flowers are somewhat dioecious; ripe in July. Wood yellow, heavy and durable. Usually a small tree, 15 to 60 ft. high; wild throughout, also cultivated.

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

2. =Mrus alba=, L. (WHITE MULBERRY.) Leaves obliquely heart-ovate, pointed, serrate, smooth and shining; lobed on the younger growths; 2 to 7 in. long. Fruit whitish, oval to oblong; ripe in July. A small tree from China, planted for feeding silkworms, but now naturalized throughout.

Var. _multicaulis_ has large leaves, and is considered better for silkworm food than the usual form. It is not very hardy, as it is frequently winter-killed in the lat.i.tude of New York City.

Var. _Downingii_ (Downing's everbearing Mulberry) has large leaves and very large, dark red or black fruit, of excellent flavor, which does not ripen all at once as most Mulberries do.

GENUS =79. BROUSSONeTIA.=

Trees with milky juice and alternate, deciduous, stipulate, broad, very hairy leaves. Flowers dioecious. Fruit (only on a portion of the plants) similar to the common Mulberry.

[Ill.u.s.tration: B. papyrifera.]

=Broussonetia papyrifera=, L. (PAPER-MULBERRY.) Leaves ovate to heart-shaped, variously lobed, deeply so on the young suckers, serrate, very rough above and quite soft-downy beneath; leaves on the old trees almost without lobes; bark tough and fibrous. Flowers in catkins, greenish; in spring. Fruit club-shaped, dark scarlet, sweet and insipid; ripe in August. Small cultivated tree, 10 to 35 ft. high, hardy north to New York; remarkable for the great variety in the forms of its leaves on the young trees.

ORDER =x.x.xVII. PLATANaCEae.=

(PLANE-TREE FAMILY.)

A very small order, containing but one genus:

GENUS =80. PLaTa.n.u.s.=

Trees with alternate, simple, large, palmately lobed leaves. The base of the petiole is hollowed to cover the bud. Flowers inconspicuous; in early spring. Fruit a large, dry ball, hanging on a long peduncle, and remaining on the tree through the winter. Large tree with white bark separating into thin, brittle plates.

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

1. =Plata.n.u.s occidentalis=, L. (AMERICAN SYCAMORE. b.u.t.tONWOOD.) Leaves large (6 to 10 in. broad), roundish heart-shaped, angularly sinuate-lobed, the short lobes sharp-pointed, scurfy-downy till old.

Fruit globular, solitary, 1 in. in diameter, hanging on long, 4-in.

peduncles; remaining on the tree through the winter. A large, well-known tree, 80 to 100 ft. high; found on river-banks throughout; also cultivated. Wood brownish, coa.r.s.e-grained; it cannot be split, and is very difficult to smooth. The marking of the grain on the quartered lumber is very beautiful.

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

2. =Plata.n.u.s orientalis=, L. (ORIENTAL PLANE.) Leaves more deeply cut, smaller, and sooner smooth than those of the American Sycamore. Fruit frequently cl.u.s.tered on the peduncles. This tree is similar to the American Sycamore, and in many ways better for cultivation.

ORDER =x.x.xVIII. JUGLANDaCEae.=

(WALNUT FAMILY.)

A small order of useful nut-and timber-trees.

GENUS =81. JuGLANS.=

Trees with alternate, odd-pinnate leaves, of 5 to 17 leaflets, with 2 to 4 axillary buds, the uppermost the largest. Flowers inconspicuous, the sterile ones in catkins. May. Fruit a large, bony, edible nut surrounded by a husk that has no regular dehiscence. The nut, as in the genus Carya, has a bony part.i.tion between the halves of the kernel.

* Leaflets 13 to 17, strongly serrate; husk of the fruit not separating from the very rough, bony nut; native. (=A.=)

=A.= Upper axillary bud cylindrical, whitish with hairs; nut elongated 1.

=A.= Upper axillary bud ovate, pointed; nut globular 2.

* Leaflets 5 to 9; husk of the fruit separating when dry from the smoothish, thin-sh.e.l.led nut; cultivated 3.

[Ill.u.s.tration: J. cinerea.]

1. =Juglans cinerea=, L. (b.u.t.tERNUT. WHITE WALNUT.) Leaflets 11 to 17, lanceolate, rounded at base, serrate with shallow teeth; downy, especially beneath; leafstalk sticky or gummy. Buds oblong, white-to-mentose. Fruit oblong, clammy, pointed. A thick-sh.e.l.led nut, deeply sculptured and rough with ragged ridges; ripe in September. A widely spreading, flat-topped tree, 30 to 70 ft. high, with gray bark and much lighter-colored wood than that of the Juglans nigra.

[Ill.u.s.tration: J. ngra.]

2. =Juglans ngra=, L. (BLACK WALNUT.) Leaflets 13 to 21, lanceolate-ovate, taper-pointed, somewhat heart-shaped and oblique at base, smooth above and very slightly downy beneath. Fruit globular, roughly dotted; the thick-sh.e.l.led nut very rough; ripe in October. A large handsome tree, 50 to 120 ft. high, with brown bark; more common west than east of the Alleghanies; often planted. Wood dark purplish-brown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: J. regia.]

3. =Juglans regia=, L. (MADEIRA NUT. ENGLISH WALNUT.) Leaflets 5 to 9, oval, smooth, obscurely serrate. Fruit oval, with a thin-sh.e.l.led oval nut not nearly so rough as that of Juglans cinerea, or of Juglans nigra.

When ripe the husk becomes very brittle and breaks open to let out the nut. Tree intermediate in size, 40 to 60 ft. high, hardy as far north as Boston in the East, but needs protection at St. Louis. It should be more extensively cultivated. Introduced from Persia.

GENUS =82. CaRYA.=

Hard-wooded trees with alternate, odd-pinnate leaves having straight-veined leaflets. The leaflets are opposite each other, and the terminal pair and end leaflet are usually much the largest. The sterile flowers are in hanging catkins, the fertile ones minute, forming a large, rounded, green-coated, dry drupe, with a roughened nut having a bony part.i.tion. The drupes hang on till frost, when they open more or less and usually allow the nut to drop out. Wood hard and tough.

* Bark s.h.a.ggy and scaly; kernel very good. (=A.=)

=A.= Leaflets usually 5 (5 to 7) 1.

=A.= Leaflets 7 to 9 2.