176 FLOWERS OF THE ROADSIDES AND HEDGES 



named because they were raised from seeds. The Newton Pippin, 

 grafted on stocks found in other parts, assumes the character of 

 the stock in a short time. It lives to a great age, and is very 

 prolific. 



The wood is used for turning by the wheelwright and the cabinet- 

 maker. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



107. Pyrus Malus, L. Tree, branched, leaves ovate, serrate, shiny, 

 or downy below, flowers white or pink, in sessile umbels, fruit yellow, 

 globose, tapered below, styles united below. 



Hawthorn (Crataegus Oxyacantha, L.) 



Widespread and common, it is not unnatural to find this plant is 

 represented in Preglacial, Interglacial, and Neolithic deposits. It is 

 confined to the Northern Temperate Zone in Europe, N. Africa, N. 

 and W. Asia, eastward to the Himalayas. In N. America it is an 

 introduction. It is found in every part of Great Britain, except the 

 Orkneys, and in Yorkshire it is found at the height of 1800 ft. It is 

 native in Ireland, but is often only planted, and Watson says, "few 

 botanists regard it as being more wild in North Britain than a casual 

 straggler probably brought from the hedgerows by birds ". 



The Hawthorn is essentially a hedgerow plant to-day, being the 

 main plant used in forming hedges all over the country. Where 

 hedges are not cut and layered it grows to a good height and spreads 

 extensively. When grown singly too, as in parks in the open, it is 

 a graceful tree or shrub. 



The first Latin name is a transliteration of the Greek name of 

 the plant, and the second one is a reminder, if one has not made 

 this discovery personally, of the sharpness of the long - pointed 

 thorns or modified branches, the English name summarizing this and 

 the character of the fruits as implied in " haw ", which really means 

 hedge. 



The May or Hawthorn is recognized by its abundance of white 

 blossom in May or June, and the scarlet berries or "haws" in winter, 

 which begin to mature in August and September. The typical thorns 

 or spines also serve to distinguish it, hedges being mainly composed 

 of Hawthorn or thorn bushes in many districts. In this state it is 

 closely branched, and the trunks are generally dwarf, being "layered" 

 periodically. It is, when a tree, often 30 ft. high, growing in the open. 

 The branches are dense or loose, with slender twigs which droop or 



