The Hawthorns 



I to li inches Icng. Bark dark grey, deeply furrowed, with 

 plate-like scales; branchlets brown to ashy grey. Leaves obovate 

 or rhomboidal, acute or rounded, serrate, often faintly lobed at 

 apex, entire at tapering base; thick, shiny, dark yellow-green at 

 maturity, paler beneath, i+ to 2 inches long and wide; petioles 

 short, winged. Flowers, May, 3 to 6 in corymbs, velvety stems, 

 corollas | inch across, stamens 10, anthers yellow. Fruit late to 

 ripen, 2 to 3 in cluster, ^ inch in diameter, slightly flattened, dull 

 orange red; calyx spreading, red tinged at base; flesh juicy, 

 yellow, sweet; nutlets 3 to 5, ridged. Preferred hahitat, dry 

 woods of foothills. Distribution, southwestern Virginia, through 

 western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia and 

 Alabama. Common at 1,500 to 3,000 feet above sea level. 



Its contorted branches and dark, furrowed bark give this 

 tree a picturesque appearance that matches well the wild, broken 

 foothills it covers in thickets of considerable extent. Inured to 

 high altitudes and exposed situations, yet it grows thriftily in the 

 Arboretum at Boston. It is a striking tree in late autumn, when 

 its leaves turn to purple, and the twigs are illuminated by the 

 thickly clustered, orange-red fruit. 



XV. MiCROCARP/t 



Parsley Haw (C apiifolia, Michx.) Tree 15 to 20 feet, 

 with horizontal, zigzag, twisted branches, forming irregular, wide, 

 open head. Thorns stout, straight, brown, i to ij inches long. 

 JVood hard, heavy, reddish brown, with satiny lustre. Leaves 

 broadly ovate to round, with 5 to 7 lobes, separated by deep 

 sinuses, and sharply toothed margins to the broad, entire base; 

 bright green, smooth above, i^ to 2 inches long; petioles slender, 

 long. Flowers, March to April, ^ inch long, in hairy, dense 

 corymbs; stamens 20, anthers bright rose colour, styles i to 3. 

 Fruits, October, persistent for several weeks, oblong, J to I inch 

 long, scarlet; nutlets i to 3, grooved. Preferred hahiiat, stream 

 borders, hummocks in pine barrens and swamp margins. Dis- 

 tribution, coast region from Virginia to Florida; westward to 

 Arkansas and Texas. Uses: One of the finest and most abundant 

 hawthorns in the valley of the Mississippi. Its graceful, parsley- 

 like leaves at once distinguish it from other species. The flowers 

 and fruit are small, but abundant and very handsome. 



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