PYRUS 277 



downy when young, becoming glabrous later ; terminal bud very downy 

 throughout the winter, not gummy. Leaves pinnate, 5 to 9 ins. long, com- 

 posed usually of six and a half or seven and a half pairs of leaflets (sometimes 

 more or less) ; leaflets narrowly ovate-oblong, i to 2^ ins. long, smallest 

 towards the apex, pointed, sharply toothed, downy beneath when young, 

 becoming almost or quite smooth by the autumn. Flowers white, ^ in. across, 

 produced very numerously in terminal, flattish corymbs 3 to 5 ins. across ; 

 calyx and flower-stalks clothed with grey wool. Fruits in large showy clusters, 

 about in. across, round or slightly oval, bright red. 



The mountain ash is widely spread over the cool, temperate parts of 

 Europe and Asia, and is abundant in most parts of the British Isles. It is 

 one of the most beautiful of our native trees alike in leaf, flower, and fruit. Its 

 beauty no doubt is greatest when the branches are laden with the large 

 nodding clusters of ripe fruits in September, but where bird life is abundant 

 that beauty soon passes. Of neat habit and never of large size, it is a useful 

 tree in small gardens, for which, however, some of the varieties mentioned 

 below might be selected, leaving the typical mountain ash for the larger 

 spaces and woodland. It is easily raised from seed, and grows quickly when 

 young. On this account young trees are much used as stocks for grafting 

 varieties of this and allied species on. It likes a moist, cool situation, and is 

 apt to scorch in hot summers in the Thames Valley unless associated with 

 other trees. Of many varieties now in cultivation the following are selected 

 as being most distinct : 



Var. ASPLENIFOLIA. Leaflets more than usually downy, the marginal 

 teeth twice as deep as in the type, frequently doubly toothed. A very pretty 

 form. 



Var. DIRKENI. Leaves clear yellow when young. 



Var. FASTIGIATA. As already intimated, the mountain ash is usually 

 erect-branched when young. In this variety this characteristic is more 

 strongly marked and is permanent. Raised at Dunganstown, Co. Wicklow. 



Var. FRUCTU-LUTEO (Fifeana). Fruits orange-yellow. 



Var. INTEGERRIMA, Kochne. A very distinct variety with leaflets quite 

 entire or with a few obscure teeth near the apex only ; young wood, leaf-stalks, 

 and leaves woolly. 



Var. LANUGINOSA (Sorbus lanuginosa, Kitaibel}. In Hungary and other 

 parts of Eastern Europe is found this variety, whose leaves are covered with 

 bristly hairs on the upper side and are very downy beneath, also on the 

 inflorescence and young shoots. In other respects it resembles P. Aucuparia, 

 and is not now considered anything more than a variety of that species. 



Var. MORAVICA (dulcis). Moravian Mountain Ash. A native of North 

 Austria ; its fruit is larger than in the type, and is eaten in Germany and 

 Austria. A form of it known as " laciniata," with deeply lobed, even 

 pinnatifid leaflets, is perhaps the handsomest of mountain ashes as regards 

 foliage. 



Var. PENDULA. Branches quite pendulous. There is a form of this whose 

 leaves are spotted with yellow, called PENDULA VARIEGATA. 



Var. SATUREIFOLIA. Three upper leaflets united; all smooth beneath. 

 Perhaps a hybrid between P. Aucuparia and pinnatifida. 



P. MKINICHII is intermediate between P. Aucuparia and P. pinnatifida, 

 and was introduced from Norway by the Earl of Ducie about 1904. P. 

 NEUILLYENSIS is of similar origin. Both are very probably seedlings of 

 pinnatifida (q.v.} reverted back in part to P. Aucuparia. 



P. POHUASHANENSIS, Hance (Sorbus p. Hedlund], is an ally of P. Aucuparia, 

 discovered in 1874 on the Po-hua mountain, N. China. It has the same 

 woolly winter buds, but rather larger leaflets, and is chiefly distinguished by 

 its stipules, which persist until the fruiting season. (In P. Aucuparia the 

 stipules fall earlier.) Fruits in. diameter, bright red. 



