Southern Thorn 



457 



branches forming a broad, irregular head ; the bark is dark gray or nearly black, 

 furrowed; the twigs are dark red-brown, whitish woolly-hairy at first, becoming 

 smooth, and bear straight red-brown spines 3 to 5 cm. long. 



The leaves are obovate to orbicular, 1.5 to 4 cm. long, i to 4 cm. wide, pointed 

 or rounded at the apex, wedge-shaped at the base, doubly and irregularly toothed, 

 with from i to 3 pairs of lobes, the teeth gland-tipped, densely woolly-hairy when 

 young, becoming smoother above, blue-green; leaf-stalks quite woolly, becoming 

 hairy, glandular, shghtly wing-margined above, about i cm. long. Flowers about 

 15 mm. wide in densely white- woolly-hairy 3- to 7-flowered cor^'mbs; calyx-tube 

 densely white- woolly, the lanceolate lobes long-pointed, glandular- toothed, nearly 

 smooth below; stamens about 20; styles 3 to 5. The fruit ripens in August; it is 

 subglobose to oval, red, hairy at the ends ; calyx-lobes reflexed, woolly-hairy; flesh 

 thin, yellow, subacid; it contains 3 to 5 nutlets about 6 mm. long, with broad 

 ridges on the backs, the nest of nutlets about 6 mm. thick. 



14. SOUTHERN THORN Cratagus viridis Linnaeus 



This thorn grows in low moist ground from Maryland to Florida and westward 

 to Missouri and Texas. It is a tree from 6 to 11 meters high, with spreading 

 branches forming a round crown, and gray 

 or pale orange-colored bark; the twigs are 

 reddish brown becoming gray, smooth, and 

 occasionally provided with slender spines 

 from 2 to 3 cm. long. 



The leaves are oblong-ovate, 2.5 to 8 

 cm. long, I cm. to 4 cm. wide, acute at 

 the apex, sometimes either long-pointed or 

 broad-pointed, wedge-shaped at the base, 

 toothed or doubly toothed, sometimes with 

 one or two pairs of prominent lobes, slightly 

 hairy when young, becoming quite smooth, 

 except on the veins beneath, thin to 

 half-leather}^ dark green and shining above, 

 paler beneath; leaf-stalks from i to 2 cm. 

 long. The flowers are about 2 cm. wide in 

 many-flowered, smooth corymbs, the calyx- 

 lobes lanceolate, pointed, slightly hair}- on the upper surface; stamens about 20; 

 anthers yellow; styles 4 or 5. The fruit ripens late; it is globose or depressed- 

 globose, bright red or orange-red, 5 to 7 mm. thick, flesh thin and dry; nutlets 

 3.5 to 5 mm. long, ridged on the back, the nest from 5 to 6 mm. thick. 



Fig. 404. Southern Thorn. 



