XXVI. ROSA. CEJE I PY RUS, 



4c31 



778. P. (c.) angustiftlia. 



lead-coloured speckled branches. Notwithstanding all these points of dif- 

 ference, however, it bears such a general resemblance to P. coronaria, that 

 we cannot doubt its being only a variety of it. The fruit is intensely acid, like 

 that of P. coronaria ; but it is much narrower and smaller. 



f 20. P. SPECTA'BILIS Ait. The showy-flowering wild Apple Tree, or 

 Chinese Crab Tree, 



Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., 2. p. 175. ; Curt. Bot. Mag., t. 267. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 635. ; Don's 



Mill., 2. p. 646. 

 Synonymes. Jtfalus spectabilis Dc$f. Arb. 2. p. 141., N. Du Ham. 6. p. 141. ; Malus sinensis Dum. 



Cours. ed. 2. 5. p. 429. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 267. ; N. Du Ham., 6. t. 42. f. 2. ; the plate of the species in Arb. Brit., 



1st edit., vol. vi. ; and our fig. 779. 



Spec. Char^ $c. Leaves oval-oblong, serrated, smooth. Flowers in sessile 

 umbels, many in an umbel ; large, and very elegant ; at first of an intense 

 rose-colour, but afterwards of a pale one. Tube of calyx smooth. Petals 

 ovate, clawed. Styles woolly at the base. (Dec. Prod.) A deciduous 

 tree, thickly crowded with upright branches, which at length become spread- 

 ing. China. Height 20 ft. to 30 ft. Introduced in 1780. Flowers pink, 

 large, showy ; April and May. Fruit greenish yellow, and unfit to eat till 

 it is in a state of incipient decay. 



This is by far the most showy of all the different species of Pyrus, both of 

 this and of the other sections. The flowers are sernidouble, and of a pale 

 rose-colour ; but before they are expanded, the flower buds, which are large, 

 appear of a deep red. In this state the tree is extremely beautiful. The 

 stamens and pistils are much more numerous than in the other species ; the 

 former sometimes exceeding 40, and the latter 20. The fruit is small, irregu- 

 larly round, angular, and about the size of a cherry : it is of a yellow colour 

 when ripe, but is without flavour, and is only fit to eat when in a state of 

 incipient decay ; at which period it takes the colour and taste of the medlar. 

 No garden, whether large or small, ought to be without this tree. 



