110 SILVA OF NORTH AMERICA. ROSACER, 
Crategus viridis is distributed in the southern Atlantic states, where it is rare, from the valley of 
the Savannah River in South Carolina to that of the Chattahoochee in western Florida, and is common 
west of the Mississippi River from the neighborhood of St. Louis to the valley of the Colorado River 
in Texas. It grows along the borders of streams and swamps in low moist soil, and in western 
Louisiana and eastern Texas, where it attains its greatest size and is most abundant, often forming 
thickets of great extent, it makes in early spring a conspicuous and beautiful feature of the vegetation 
of the broad river-bottoms. 
The wood of Crategus viridis is heavy, hard, and close-grained, although not strong, and is sus- 
ceptible of receiving a beautiful polish; it is light brown tinged with red, with thick lighter colored 
sapwood, and contams numerous very obscure medullary rays. The specific gravity of the absolutely 
dry wood is 0.6491, a cubic foot weighing 40.45 pounds. Crataegus viridis was known’ by Clayton,? 
who probably sent to Linnzus the specimen upon which the species was established, although the tree 
is not now known to grow so far north as Virginia, the field of Clayton’s botanical observations. 
In 1876 Crategus viridis was introduced from Missouri into the Arnold Arboretum, where it is 
perfectly hardy, and is conspicuous late in the autumn by the splendid color of its foliage, which at this 
season is unsurpassed in brilliancy by that of any other North American tree. 
1 Mespilus inermis, foliis oblongis integris acuminatis serratis parvis, Zee 8. 
utrinque viridibus, cortice albicante, Fl. Virgin. 163. 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 
Pratt CLXXXVII. Crataaus vIRIDIs. 
. A flowering branch, natural size. 
Se 
. Vertical section of a flower, enlarged. 
<) 
A fruiting branch, natural size. 
. A fruit with part of the flesh removed, showing the nutlets, natural size. 
. A nutlet, natural size. 
. A nutlet divided transversely, enlarged. 
AO oR 
A spine, natural size. 
End of a leafy shoot with stipules, natural size. 
$2 90 
A winter branchlet, natural size. 
