Gleditsia sinensis
Trunk with branches and thorns
The Chinese honey locust ( Gleditsia sinensis ) is a small, busy with numerous thorns tree with pinnate leaves of the subfamily of carob plants ( Caesalpinioideae ). The natural range of the species is in China. In China, India and Korea, it is cultivated. It is rarely planted as an ornamental shrub.
Description
The Chinese honey locust is up to 30 meters tall with gray to deep brown branches and bare branches. The thorns are up to 16 centimeters long, highly branched, terete, thick and conical. The leaves are 10 to 18, rarely to 26 inches long and simply pinnate. The blade spindles are hairy slightly fluffy, the sub-petioles are 1-2, rarely to 5 mm long and hairy too weak fluffy. The rarely four, usually six to 18 pairs of leaflets papery, 2 to 8.5, rarely up to 12.5 inches long and 1 to 4, rarely 6 inches wide, oblong to ovate - lanceolate, with wedge-shaped to rounded, sometimes slightly slate base, pointed or sharpened blade end with a rounded tip and serrated blade and stachelpitziger edge. The leaves are dull yellow -green and slightly pubescent, the bottom is hairy along the middle nerve. The network- like arrangement of veins stand out on both sides of the leaflets.
The inflorescences are 5-14 centimeters long, slightly fluffy hairy grapes in the leaf axils or at the ends of the branches. The yellowish-white flowers are distributed polygamous. The male flowers grow on 2-8, rarely to 10 mm long pedicles and have diameter of 9 to 10 millimeters. The base of the flower is between 2.5 and 3 millimeters wide, deep brown and hairy outside. The four sepals are triangular- lanceolate, about 3 mm long and hairy on both sides. The four petals are oblong, 4-5 mm long and hairy slightly fluffy. There are rarely formed from six to eight stamens usually. The rudimentary trained stamp is about 2.5 millimeters long. The hermaphrodite flowers grow to 2 to 5 millimeters long stems and have diameters of 10 to 12 mm. The sepals and petals are similar to those of male flowers, but are longer. There shall be eight stamens. The ovary is hairy at the base and at the seams and has numerous ovules. The scar is bilobed. As fruits 12-37 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, brown or reddish brown, band-shaped, curved, partially rolled sleeves are made with thickened ends. The walls of the pods are woody and arched. Some fruits are shorter and smaller, 5 to 13 centimeters long and 1 to 1.5 inches wide, more or less terete and seedless. The stem is 1 to 3.5 inches long, the flaps are leathery and often dusty mealy. The numerous seeds are brown, glossy, oblong or elliptic, 11-13 mm long and 8-9 mm wide. The Chinese honey locust blooms from March to May the fruits ripen from May to December.
The chromosome number is 2n = 28
Occurrence and habitat requirements
The natural range is in China in the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jilin, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Zhejiang. In China, India and Korea, the species is cultivated. The Chinese honey locust grows on mountain slopes, in valleys and forests at elevations of 200 to 2500 meters on dry to fresh, mildly acidic to strongly alkaline, sandy, sandy- gravelly or sandy- loamy, fertile soil in sun to hot locations. The species is moisture and frost. The distribution area is the hardiness zone 6b associated with mean annual minimum temperatures -20.5 to -17.8 ° C.
System
The Chinese honey locust ( Gleditsia sinensis ) is a species of the genus Gleditschien ( Gleditsia ). It is assigned in the legume family ( Fabaceae ) of the subfamily of carob plants ( Caesalpinioideae ) and the tribe Caesalpinieae. The species was described in 1788 by Jean -Baptiste de Lamarck first scientifically valid. The genus name Gleditsia was chosen by Carl Linnaeus and is reminiscent of the German botanist Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch ( Latinized Gleditsius ) ( 1714-1786 ), Professor and Director of the Botanic Garden Berlin. The specific epithet refers to the area of distribution sinensis in China. Synonyms for the species are Gleditsia horrida Willdenow, Gleditsia Gleditsia and macracantha Desfontaines officinalis Hemsley.
Use
The Chinese honey locust is sometimes used because of their remarkable fruits as an ornamental shrub. It is used sometimes as a honey plant.