396 EDIBLE WILD PLANTS 



lighter colored juice, the stains of which are very difficult to 

 efface, nearly round or slightly egg-shaped, To-in. to -vsin. thick, 

 smooth skinned, juicy, sweetish-sour, astringent ; in heavy 

 bunches, though each berry has a separate long fruit stalk. 

 Pleasant and digestible. Contains several small seeds. 



In meadows, wet intervales, or moist places in open woods 

 and barren land. Widely distributed and abundant, especially 

 in the southern counties. 



17. Pyrus Americana D. C. American Mountain Ash. 



Tree 8 ft. to 25 ft. high, straight and regularly branched. 

 Bark greyish-brown. Leaflets 2^ in. long, taper pointed, sharply 

 notched, bright green above, pale green below, 13 leaflets on 

 each leaf stalk. Berries in flat-topped clusters, round, size of 

 field peas, bright red or scarlet, has a peculiar astringent sour 

 taste unlike that of any other berry, therefore unpleasant to the 

 great majority, pulpy, juicy, with few seeds. Grow in great 

 flat clusters nearly on every branch, often coveting the 

 tree in a canopy of scarlet fruit. In autumn it is our most 

 beautiful tree, much used as an ornament for lawns and gar- 

 dens. Ripens in September, remaining uninjured long after the 

 first frosts. Seldom used as a food. 



In moist woods, hancrino; over river and lake banks, which 

 it greatly beautifies. Particularly abundant in Yarmouth and 

 Sheiburne counties, becoming less plentiful going east. 



18. Amelanchier Canadensis Medic. (2 or more varieties). 



Shad-bush, Service-berry, June-berry, June plum, locally 

 " Indian Pear." 



(a). Tree 6 ft. to 30 ft. high, branches ascending at a slight 

 angle with the trunk, thin limbs and open foliage, close tough 

 wood. Bark moderately smooth, light grey with dark grey or 

 light brown stripes, running vertically. Leaves oblong, pointed, 

 2 in. to 2 1 in. long, sharply notched, heart-shaped at base in some 



