Part 46

=Flowers=.—May-June; polygamous; small, greenish.

=Fruit=.—A flattened and twisted pod, 10-18 inches long, containing oval brownish seeds.

=Bark=.—Sometimes smooth but often roughened on old trunks, by shallow fissures and thick ridges with projecting edges, and by branched thorns.

=Wood=.—Hard, heavy, strong, durable in contact with the soil, bright reddish brown heartwood, whitish sapwood.

=Range=.—Ontario to Florida, west to Kansas and Texas.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Not common in any part of West Virginia, but found in scattered stands throughout the State, except at high elevations. Rare in Upshur and other high hilly counties west of the Alleghanies, and also in the Eastern Panhandle.

=Habitat=.—Thrives best in fertile soil of river bottoms, but grows well in other situations.

=Notes=.—The wood of Honey Locust is used principally for fencing, wheel hubs, and general construction; but the tree is too rare and not of sufficient size to give it any commercial importance.

RED BUD

=Cercis canadensis=, L.

=Form=.—Height 15-25 feet, diameter 6-10 inches; trunk usually inclined and short; crown broad, open and shallow.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, rounded, 3-5 inches long, with heart-shaped base, and blunt apex; smooth, entire, bright pale green above, paler beneath.

=Flowers=.—April, before the leaves; perfect; in form like the sweet pea, red-purple, arranged in umbel-like clusters along the branches of the last or preceding years.

=Fruit=.—A flattened, many-seeded pod, the upper suture with a winged margin.

=Bark=.—Thin, with shallow fissures and scaly reddish brown ridges.

=Wood=.—Heavy, hard, not strong, reddish brown with thick whitish sapwood.

=Range=.—Ontario to Florida, west to Minnesota and Kansas.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Common in most parts of the State, forming thickets along borders of woods and streams. Rare in the higher counties.

=Habitat=.—Rich moist soil of abandoned fields, open woods and stream banks.

=Notes=.—This tree is chiefly ornamental. Its profuse purplish flowers give it attractiveness early in the spring, when the Service and Flowering Dogwood are in bloom.

COMMON LOCUST

=Robinia Pseudo-Acacia=, L.

=Form=.—Height 50-75 feet, diameter 2-3 feet; trunk when grown in the forest often tall and free from limbs; crown loose and more or less irregular.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, compound, odd-pinnate, 8-14 inches long; leaflets 7-21, ovate or oblong, 1-2 inches long, entire, very thin, smooth, dull green above, paler beneath; stipules thorny or spine-like.

=Flowers=.—May, after the leaves; perfect, pea-shaped, white, very fragrant, borne on slender pedicels in loose drooping racemes 4-5 inches long.

=Fruit=.—A flat pod 3-4 inches long, containing 4-8 small brown seeds.

=Bark=.—Deeply furrowed into firm, prominent ridges, reddish-brown.

=Wood=.—Heavy, very hard and strong, close-grained, very durable in contact with the soil, brownish with thin yellow sapwood.