ROSACEAE ROSE FAMILY 
WILD CRAB 
Pyrus ioensis (Wood) Bailey 
One of the most beautiful and fragrant of all trees is the 
Wild Crab when it is in bloom in late April and May. The 
rose-colored buds and the delicately pink flowers have a dis- 
tinctive beauty beg- 
garing description. It 
is from this species 
that the Bechtel’s 
Double-flowering 
Crab of our gardens 
is derived. 
The Wild Crab is 
found from central 
Kentucky and Indi- 
ana to Wisconsin and 
Minnesota, south to 
eastern Kansas, Texas 
and Louisiana. The 
tree grows 10-20 feet 
tall. The lower sur- 
faces of the alternate 
leaves are densely 
covered with downy hairs, at least when young, and the petioles 
are quite woolly. 
The 5 green sepals and 5 pink or whitish petals are attached 
to the urn-shaped receptacle above the ovaries. Stamens are 
numerous and there are 2-5 styles. The extremely fragrant 
fruit is green when ripe and excellent for making jelly. 
The Southern or Narrow-leaved Crab, Pyrus angustifolia Ait., 
is also a common tree of southern Illinois and southern states. 
It likewise seeks low ground near streams. It is particularly 
striking in bud, for the pink flowers do not open for perhaps 10 
days after reaching full size. The fruit, much smaller than in 
the Wild Crab, is green and less fragrant. 
In southern Illinois will also be found the American Crab, 
Pyrus coronaria L., a somewhat armed tree 10-35 feet high, grow- 
ing in thickets and open woods. The leaves are thick, ovate or 
elliptic, shining and dark green above; and the fragrant pink 
flowers are few in each cyme and mostly less than 1 inch broad. 
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