XXVI. ROSA CEJE : PY RUS. 



431 



P, (c.) angustiiblia. 



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-Jlowenng wild Apple Tree, or 



Chinese Crab Tree, 



Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., 2. p. 175, 



Mill., 2. p. 646. 

 Synonymes. Jt/alus spectabills Dcsf. Arb.i. p. 141., 



Cmrs. ed. 2. .'i. p. 429. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 267. ; N. Du Ham., 6. t 



1st edit., vol. vi. ; and our^g. 779. 



Curt. Bot. Mag., t. 267. : Dec. Prod., 2. p. G35. ; Don's 

 N. Du Ham. 6. p. 141. ; iV/Mus sinensis Dum. 

 42. f. 2. ; the plate of the species in Arb. Brit., 



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^SO 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 sliowy of all the different species of Pyrus, both of 



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



rcse-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 



j s^tamens and pistils aie much more numerous than in the other species ; the 



; torraer 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 tliis tree. 



