A large shrub or small, round-headed tree whose leaves are made up of eleven to fifteen leaflets each 1 to 21⁄2 in. long, 1⁄3 to 3⁄4 in. wide, and glabrous. Fruits globose, 1⁄3 to 3⁄4 in. wide, enclosing a nut deeply grooved lengthwise. Coming from S. California it is not hardy with us.
Very closely related to J. californica and perhaps not specifically distinct from it is:
J. hindsii (Jeps.) R. E. Smith /. californica var. hindsii Jeps. – A native of Central California and a tree 40 to 70 ft high (occasionally more) with fifteen to nineteen leaflets to each leaf. The entire leaf is 9 to 12 in. long, the leaflets 2 to 4 in. long, 3⁄4 to 1 in. wide, coarsely toothed, downy on the midrib and veins beneath. Young shoots and leaf-stalks very downy. Fruits globose, downy, 1 to 2 in. wide; nut, thick-shelled, shallowly grooved.
J hindsii was introduced to Kew in 1926 and is hardy there. It is related to J. microcarpa which differs in having even more (up to twenty-three) leaflets, narrower and more finely toothed. It is much planted in Californian towns as a street tree.