286 pyrus. 
summit, and thus bearing the character of art, it is adapted for particular situa- 
tions where the violent contrast exhibited by trees of picturesque forms would 
be inharmonious. In summer, when clothed with leaves, it forms a compact 
green mass, till it is ruffled by the breeze, when, like the abele, it suddenly 
assumes a mealy whiteness. From its hardy nature,, it will withstand the 
fiercest and the coldest winds, and yet will never fail to grow erect, and produce 
a regular head ; and for this reason, it is well adapted for sheltering houses and 
gardens where the situations are much exposed. 
' 4. Torminaria, characterized by flat, spreading petals, with short claws ; from 
two to five connected glabrous styles ; pome top-shaped at the base, and trun- 
cate at the tip, with but little juice; sepals deciduous ; leaves angled, with lobes, 
glabrous when adult ; flowers in corymbs, with the peduncles branched. In this 
section is included the griping-fruited or common wild service-tree, (Pyrus tormi- 
nalis,) native of various parts of Europe, and of western Asia; and in its gene- 
ral character, in regard to constitution and habit, greatly resembles the trees of 
the division Aria. 
5. Eriolobus, characterized by flat, spreading petals, with short claws, and 
with about three teeth at the tip ; styles, five in number, long at the base, very 
hairy, and somewhat connected ; pome globose, glabrous, crowned with the lobes 
of the calyx, which are tomentose upon both surfaces ; leaves palmately lobed, 
and glabrous ; flowers upon unbranched pedicels, disposed in corymbs. This 
section includes the three-lobed-leaved pear-tree, (Pyrus trilobata,) a native of 
Mount Lebanon, which grows to the height of twenty feet. 
6. Sorbus, characterized by flat, spreading petals; from two to five styles; 
globose, or top-shaped pome ; impari-pinnate, or pinnately-cut leaves ; and flow- 
ers occurring in branched corymbs. The trees comprehended in this division, 
are natives of northern and western Asia, Europe, the Himalayas, and North 
America, and like those of the section Aria, are much confounded, and bear 
a great variety of names. Besides the mountain ash, or fowler's service-tree, 
(Pyrus aucuparia,) and its varieties, this section includes the auricled service, 
(Pyrus auriculata,) a native of Egypt; the pinnatifid-leaved service, (Pyrus pin- 
natifida,) indigenous to Gothland, Thuringia, and Britain; and the true service- 
tree, (Pyrus sorbus,) a native of Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, 
cultivated for ornament, and celebrated for being the hardest and the heaviest of 
all European woods. 
7. Adeuorachis, characterized by spreading petals, each with a claw, and a 
concave limb ; from two to five styles ; globose pome ; simple leaves, with the 
midribs bearing glands on the upper surface ; and the flowers occurring in 
branched corymbs. This section is so unlike the others in habit and general 
appearance, that, at some future time, it will probably form a distinct genus, 
and perhaps will be classified with the common hawthorn, (Crataegus oxycantha,) 
as the trees in the two divisions will probably prove to graft reciprocally upon 
each other. Among the trees of this section, are included the arbutus-leaved 
aronia, (Pyrus arbutifolia,) and its varieties, which consist of deciduous shrubs, 
natives of North America, growing to a height of four or five feet, and distin- 
guished for their prolific flowers, and red, dark-purple, or black fruit ; the downy- 
branched aronia, (Pyrus pubens,) and the large-leaved aronia, (Pyrus grandifolia,) 
both of which are also natives of North America, and well deserve a place in 
every collection. 
s. ChamcBmespilus, characterized by upright, conniving, concave petals ; two 
styles ; ovate pome ; simple, glandless leaves ; and flowers occurring in capitate 
corymbs. This section comprehends the European dwarf medlar, (Pyrus chamae- 
mespilus,) a compact bush, bearing an abundance of flowers, and orange-coloured 
fruit, grafts readily on the common hawthorn, and deserves to be extensively 
introduced in collections. 
