The Hawthorns 



bright crimson, f inch long, velvety, with large, pale dots; flesh 

 thick, juicy, pleasantly acid; nutlets 3 to 4, ridged. Preferred 

 habitat, dry banks. Distribution, Arnold Arboretum in Boston, 

 and Medford, Massachusetts. 



The discovery of this handsome hawthorn, not long ago, 

 growing wild within the gates of the Arnold Arboretum, was 

 an event of considerable importance to horticulture; for this 

 tree, laden with its large crimson fruit in August, is a wondrous 

 sight. Added to their beauty, these fruits are juicy, and have 

 a pleasant piquant flavour, for which they deserve especial 

 mention. 



In winter, the tree may be known by the remarkable zigzag 

 of its ascending branches. In habit and foliage it is thrifty and 

 handsome. The fruit ripens and begins to fall in August, but a 

 goodly quantity remains to brighten the fading leaves well on 

 into October. 



The tree has been found growing wild near Medford, Massa- 

 chusetts, and is now often seen in cultivation about Boston. 

 ' Red Haw (C. submollis, Sarg.) Tree 20 to 25 feet high, with 

 round, handsome head, branchlets slender. Thorns slender, 

 curved, brown, shining, 2 to 3 inches long. Bark pale greyish 

 brown, scaly; twigs, tomentose, branches orange brown. Leaves 

 ovate, acute, with doubly serrate, pointed lobes above middle; 

 base cuneate, serrate, becoming entire near slender, downy 

 petiole; 2\ to 3^ inches long, almost as wide, pubescent at first, 

 becoming smooth, except on veins beneath, and rough above. 

 Flowers, May, in compound, pubescent corymbs, white, i inch 

 across, with 10 stamens, anthers pale yellow, styles 3 to 5, tufted 

 at base. Fruits ripe and falling in early September; in slender, 

 copious clusters, lustrous orange red, pear shaped, with pale dots, 

 f inch long, with prominent, erect calyx lobes; pedicels slender, 

 velvety; nutlets 5, slightly ridged, in thin, mealy flesh. Preferred 

 habitat, rich soil of woodland borders. Distribution, Quebec to 

 Penobscot Valley in Maine; to eastern Massachusetts; also near 

 Albany, New York. 



This Eastern species was long considered identical with the 

 preceding one. It is now distinguished by well-defined characters. 

 It is not so densely downy as C. mollis. The leaves are smaller, 

 more deeply lobed, and usually wedge shaped at base. The 

 fruits are smaller and pear shaped. The branchlets are orange 



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