Pea Tree

Pea Tree 

(Caragand), a genus of deciduous bushes or small trees of the family Leguminosae. The leaves are alternate or in clusters, even-pinnate, with two to ten pairs of entire leaflets. The blossoms are bisexual and grow either separately or in clusters of two to five, usually with yellow or golden yellow coloration. The pods are noticeably longer than the calyx, and their valves curl upon splitting.

There are approximately 80 species in the European part of the USSR, Middle Asia, Siberia, the Far East, Mongolia, and China. Members of Caragana grow in deserts, steppes, river bottoms, mountain slopes, taluses, forest borders, and thinned forests. There are 35 species in the Soviet Union. The common ones are the Siberian pea tree and the Russian pea tree (C. frutex), with a height of 0.5–2 m, leaves of four tightly grouped leaflets, and golden yellow blossoms. They grow in thickets in the forest and forest-steppe zones, as well as in mountainous areas. Pea trees are raised as decorative and nectariferous plants andalso are used to stabilize slopes.