GLEDITSIA CASPIA, NOT A DISTINCT SPECIES (LEGUMINOSAE)

Summary The so‐called Caspian Locust is morphologically so closely related to Gleditsia horrida (Thunb.) Miq. from Japan that it has been considered by C. K. Schneider merely as a variety of the latter. Legumes of both taxa were compared without finding differences. It is pointed out that laterally setose legumes as that figured recently by Dudik, do not occur in G. horrida. The area of distribution, both present and past, of relict laurel‐type forests is discussed with the conclusion that G. caspia Desf. is best regarded as a subspecies of G. horrida ; three necessary new combinations are made in an Appendix.