Genus 29. CARAGÀNA.
Leaves alternate, deciduous, abruptly once-pinnate; leaflets mucronate; stipules usually spinescent. Flowers pea-flower-shaped, mostly yellow. Trees or shrubs of Asia.
C. arboréscens.
Caragàna arboréscens, Larn. (Pea-tree.) Leaves with 4 to 6 pairs of oval-oblong, mucronate-pointed, hairy leaflets; petioles unarmed; stipules spinescent. Flowers yellow, blooming in May. Pods brown, ripe in August. A low, stiff, erect tree, 10 to 15 ft. high; in poor soil a bush. From Siberia; frequent in cultivation.
Genus 30. CLADRÁSTIS.
Small tree with alternate, odd-pinnate leaves, the base of the petiole hollow, and inclosing the leaf-buds of the next year. Flowers large, pea-blossom-like in shape, in large clusters. Fruit pea-pod-like in shape and size. Wood light yellow, firm and hard.
C. tinctòria.
Cladrástis tinctòria, Raf. (Yellow-wood.) Leaflets 7 to 11, oval to ovate, 3 to 4 in. long, beautiful light green in color. Flowers 1 in. long, white, not so fragrant as the common Locust, in hanging panicles 10 to 20 in. long; blooming in June. Pods 2 in. long, ripe in August. Wild but rare in Kentucky and south. A beautiful tree, 20 to 50 ft. high, with very smooth grayish bark; rarely cultivated.