THE ROMANCE OF OUR TREES 



gardeners as the only Cherry they can dwarf and 

 cause to flower in pots. Another dwarf Japanese 

 Cherry is P. subhirtella var. autumnalis which has 

 semi-double pink flowers, and blossoms in spring or 

 autumn or both seasons. It is a twiggy, often vase- 

 shaped tree from 6 to 12 feet tall, and about as free- 

 blooming as its most charming parent, the lovely 

 Spring Cherry, P. subhirtella. 



The low-growing Mains Sieboldii is less beautiful in 

 flower and fruit than other Japanese Crabapples but 

 a close relative M. Sargentii is especially valuable. 

 This species is native of the salt marshes around Muro- 

 ran, Hokkaido, northern Japan, where it wasdiscovered 

 in 1892 by Professor Sargent, and introduced into the 

 Arnold Arboretum. It has rigid, spreading branches, 

 the lower ones flat on the ground, and is particularly 

 well suited for covering slopes and banks. The flow- 

 ers, abundantly produced in umbel-like clusters, 

 are saucer-shaped, round, and of the purest white; 

 they are followed by a wealth of wine-coloured fruit 

 which is covered by a slight bloom and remains on 

 the plants until the following spring. 



An earlier chapter is devoted to the Common Horse- 

 chestnut and it is fitting that in bringing this work 

 to a close to say a few words about the Dwarf Buck- 

 eyes of which three species are thriving in the Arnold 

 Arboretum. They have long been overlooked or 

 266 



