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Caragana (Caragan, its Mongolian name). Leguminosae. Pea Tree. Ornamental shrubs chiefly grown for their bright yellow flowers; some species are also used for hedges.
Leaves abruptly pinnate, often with persistent spiny-pointed rachis; lfts. small, entire; stipules deciduous or persistent and spiny: fls. papilionaceous; standard upright, like the wings with long claws; keel obtuse and straight; stamens 10, 9 connate, 1 free; ovary scarcely stipitate: pod linear, terete, straight, 2- valved, with several seeds. —More than 50 species from S. Russia to China, most of them in Cent. Asia. Monograph by Komarov in Act. Hort. Petrop. 29:179-388 (1908), with 16 plates.
The caraganas are deciduous unarmed or spiny shrubs with yellow, rarely whitish or pinkish flowers axillary and solitary or fascicled, followed by linear pods. The cultivated species are quite hardy, except a few Himalayan species. They grow in almost any soil, but best in a sandy soil and sunny position, and are well adapted for shrubberies. C. arborescens is the only one which grows into a small tree, and is of upright habit, like C. frutex, which is about half as high and more graceful; most of the other species are low shrubs, of usually spreading habit. C. arborescens is one of the best hedge shrubs for the prairies of the Northwest.
Propagation is by seeds sown in fall or in spring; if kept dry during the winter, soaking in tepid water for two or three days before sowing will be of advantage; also increased by root-cuttings and layers, or by grafting on seedling stock of C. arborescens in spring.
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