PRAIRIE CRAB APPLE (Mains loensis, Britt.). 20 to 30 

 feet. Vigorous tree with round, open head of stout, pubescent 

 branches. Lateral twigs usually bear spine-pointed spurs. 

 Bark thin, brown, with long, narrow, persistent scales. Wood 

 heavy, hard, brown, used for tool-handles, levers, and for fuel. 

 Leaves oblong, pointed, often lobed on vigorous shoots, 

 doubly serrate, acute or rounded at base, 3 to 4 inches long, 

 pubescent below, leathery, dark, shining above, turning yellow; 

 petioles stout, fuzzy. Flowers white, or rosy, like those of 

 M . coronaria, but hoary-tomentose. Fruit fuzzy, becoming 

 dull, smooth, 1^ inches in diameter, not flattened, fragrant. 

 Dist. : The Mississippi Basin, all states the river bounds, and 

 Nebraska to Texas. Known by the wooliness of its young 

 growth all summer. 



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