PYRUS 279 



ft. in diameter. Leaves li to 3! ins. long, about half as much wide ; oval or 

 ovate, rounded or tapering at the base, shallowly and bluntly toothed ; smooth 

 above, and either smooth or downy beneath ; stalks slender, i to 2 ins. long. 

 Flowers white, produced during April in umbels ; each flower ij ins. across, 

 and borne on a slender stalk i to i| ins. long. Fruit f to in. thick, globular, 

 bright red, hollowed at the insertion of the stalk, and with a round scar, but 

 no calyx teeth at the top. 



Widely spread in nature, this species reaches from Lake Baikal in Siberia, 

 eastwards to Manchuria and N. China, and the same or a similar tree is 

 found in the Himalaya. Introduced to Kew in 1784. It varies considerably 

 in the downiness of the various parts. Some of the trees in the Kew collection 

 have smooth young shoots, leaves, calyx-tube, and flower-stalks ; others have 

 all these parts downy. The lobes of the calyx appear to be invariably silky- 

 hairy inside. As a tree for gardens the Siberian crab stands in the first rank. 

 It is pretty in April when laden with its abundant white flowers, but its great 

 value and charm are most apparent in autumn, when its plentiful crop of 

 cherry-like crabs turns a brilliant red. They remain long on the leafless 

 branches, and I have seen them lighting up the garden on fine days as late 

 as February. This tree is closely allied to P. prunifolia, but the fruit of the 

 latter is more elongated, not indented at the base, and nearly always crowned 

 with the calyx teeth. The late Dr Regel, about thirty years ago, sent seeds 

 to Kew of about a dozen varieties with names, but when the trees flowered 

 .'.nd bore fruit they proved indistinguishable. The fruit of P. baccata, 

 although harsh when eaten raw, makes a very excellent jelly. 



Var. MICROCARPA, Re%el. Fruit about half the size of those described 

 above. Some regard this as the typical wild plant. 



P. BETUL^EFOLIA, Bunge. 



A slender, quick-growing, graceful tree, 20 to 30 ft. high ; young shoots 

 covered thickly with a grey felt which persists the whole of the year. Leaves 

 ovate or roundish ovate, 2 to 3 ins. long, ij to i^ ins. wide ; long-pointed, 

 tapered or rounded at the base, regularly and sometimes rather coarsely 

 toothed, downy on both surfaces at first, remaining so on the veins beneath 

 throughout the season ; dark green, smooth and lustrous above ; stalk i to 

 if ins. long, grey-felted like the shoot. Flowers eight to ten together in a 

 corymb, white, each about f in. across, on a downy stalk f to I in. long ; 

 calyx downy, its short triangular teeth falling away from the small roundish 

 fruit, which is about the size of a large pea, greyish brown with white dots. 



Native of N. China; introduced to Kew in 1882 through seeds sent by 

 the late Dr Bretschneider. The chief characteristics of the tree are its quick 

 graceful growth, and small fruits not crowned by calyx teeth. Its fruit would 

 appear to be of no value, but the tree is used by the Chinese as a stock on 

 which they graft fruiting pears. 



P. CALONEURA, Bean. 



(Micromeles caloneura, Stapf., Bot. Mag., t. 8335.) 



A tree probably 20 to 30 ft. high, with smooth young shoots and large, 

 ovoid, smooth winter buds. Leaves oval to oblong, tapered at both ends ; 

 2 to 3! ins. long, half as wide ; doubly-toothed, clothed when very young with 

 a loose floss which soon falls away leaving them smooth above, but with a 

 few hairs on the veins beneath ; veins in nine to twelve pairs ; stalk \. to \ in. 

 long, at first hairy. Flowers white, about j? in. wide, produced in rouncled, 

 dense corymbs, 2 to 3 ins. across ; flower-stalks and calyx downy. Fruit 

 somewhat pear-shaped, ?, in. long, brown, spotted ; the calyx falls away from 

 the apex completely, leaving a small pit there 



