1474 



PYRUS 



PYRUS 



2034. 

 Pyrus coronaria. 



(XK-) 



BB. American native species: Ivs. for the most part 

 coarsely toothed and more or less lobed or notched: 

 calyx persistent (exception in P. fusca). 

 c. Calyx deciduous from the fruit. 



14. fusca, Raf. (P. rivuldris, Dougl.). Shrub or 

 small tree, sometimes 30-40 ft. tall, the young growths 

 more or less pubescent: Ivs. ovate- lanceolate, acute or 

 acuminate, very sharply and strongly serrate, often 3- 

 lobed or notched on the strong shoots, pubescent be- 

 neath: fls. white, on slender pubescent pedicels, appear- 

 ing when the Ivs. are nearly or quite full grown, nearly 

 or fully 1 in. across: fr. ob- 

 long, % in. or less long, yel- 

 low or greenish, the calyx - 



lobes caducous. N. Calif, to 

 Alaska. S.S. 4: 170. -Accord- 

 ing to Sargent, P. fusca "grows 

 usually in deep, rich soil in 

 the neighborhood of streams, 

 often forming almost impen- 

 etrable thickets of consider- 

 able extent, and attains its 

 greatest size in the valleys of 

 Washington and Oregon.'' 

 The fruit is eaten by Indians. 

 The species suggests P. 

 Toringo. 



cc. Calyx persistent. 



15. coronaria, Linn. WILD 

 CRAB APPLE. Figs. 2031-34. A 



low, bushy tree, with very stiff, crooked, thorny branches, 

 the young growth glabrous or becoming so: Ivs. triangu- 

 lar-ovate, on the spurs short-ovate, sharply cut-serrate 

 and more or less prominently lobed and notched, thin 

 and hard, on slender but stiff, glabrous petioles: fls. ap- 

 pearing with the Ivs., rosy red or blush and very fra- 

 grant, on long and slender (1% to 2 in.), stiff pedicels 

 which are glabrous or nearly so: fr. about an inch in 

 diam., flattened at both ends, clear yellowish green 

 without spots or dots and often with a tinted cheek, the 

 stem very slender and smooth and set in a regular and 

 uniform shallow cavity, the basin (at the apex) broad 

 but rather deep with separated corrugations and a 

 small, smooth calyx, the flesh hard, sour and acerb. 

 Wild in dryish glades and rich uplands from Ontario 

 and New York to District of Columbia, west to Kansas 

 and Missouri, and southward. B.M. 2009. B.R. 8:651. 

 S.S. 4:167. R.H. 1884, p. 104. Gn. 29, p. 395; 34, p. 

 206. The fruit, which is produced in abundance, was 

 often buried by the early settlers for use in the spring, 

 when its acerbity was largely extracted; and it was 

 sometimes used for cider. It is also useful for jellies 

 and preserves. The species was probably never intro- 

 duced into cultivation for its fruit, although it has been 

 long grown for ornament and under domestication the 



2035. Prairie States Crab Pyrus loensis (X %). 



Apples are often twice their natural size. There is a 

 form with semi-double fls. and one (var. aucubcefolia) 

 with variegated leaves. An attractive species. 



16. angustifolia, Ait. (P. coronaria, var. angustifolia, 

 Wenzig. Mains angustifolia, Michx. M. sempervirens, 

 Desf. M. microcdrpa sempervirens, Carr. ). Lvs. lance- 

 oblong, crenate-serrate or almost entire, not lobed, thick 

 and half evergreen: otherwise very like P. coronaria. 

 Western Pa. to Fla. and La., taking the place of P. 

 coronaria. B.R. 14:1207. Carriere, "Pom. Microcarpes," 

 pp. 21, 137. S.S. 4:169. R.H. 1877:410?-A double-fid, 

 form of what appears to be this species is figured in 

 G.C. III. 13:43. 



17. Io6nsis, Bailey (P. coronaria, var. loensis, Wood). 

 PRAIRIE STATES or WESTERN CRAB-APPLE. Fig. 2035. 

 Small tree, with mostly softer wood, the parts gray- 

 woolly: Ivs. ovate-oblong to elliptic-obovate, irregularly 

 and mostly bluntly toothed and the larger ones marked 

 with right-angled notches of shallow lobes, very tomen 

 tose below or becoming rusty and rarely glabrate with 

 age, the petioles short and stout and pubescent: fls. usu 

 ally upon shorter pedicels which, like the calyx, are to 

 mentose : fr. oblong or at least never flattened length 

 wise, sometimes angular, larger than in the last and 

 clinging later to the tree, dull heavy green with nu 

 merous light-colored dots on the skin, the surface hav 

 ing a greasy feel, the stem short and thick as com- 

 pared with No. 15 and set in an oblique cavity, the basin 

 narrow and shallow, with variable corrugations and a 

 closed and pubescent calyx, the flesh sour and austere. 

 Wild in low or flat lands in the Mississippi valley. S.S. 

 4:168 (frs. too flat). Fruits appropriated by the set- 

 tlers, but the species is probably not in cultivation for 

 its fruit, although a double-flowered variety has been 

 lately introduced, Bechtel's Crab, sometimes referred 

 to P. angustifolia (G.C. III. 25:397). 



18. Soulardi, Bailey. SOULARD CRAB. Figs. 2036, 



2037. Natural hybrid of P. 

 Malus and P. loensis : a 

 small tree, with much the look 

 of an Apple tree, and woolly: 

 Ivs. large, round-ovate to el- 

 liptic-ovate or oblong -ovate, 

 either rounded or tapering at 

 the base, often very blunt or 

 even rounded at the top, most- 

 ly bluntly and coarsely serrate 

 or dentate when young, ir- 

 regularly crenate - dentate at 

 maturity, with a tendency to 

 become lobed, on short pubes- 

 cent petioles, thick and often 

 rugose and woolly beneath: 

 fls. blush, in close woolly clus- 

 ters like those of the Apple : 

 fr. often 2 in. or even more 

 in diam., flattish lengthwise, 

 yellow and often with a tinted cheek, 

 the basin shallow, flesh fairly edible. 

 Wild in the Mississippi valley from 

 Minnesota to Texas, but always local. 

 Named for James G. Soulard, Ga- 

 lena, 111., who introduced the first VP 

 riety to cultivation. In some 

 forms the leaves become nearly 

 smooth late in the season and 

 there is little tendency towards 

 an irregular notching or lobing 

 of the margins. The tree is 

 hardy and the fruit keeps well 

 and is useful for culinary pur- 

 poses. A few named varieties 

 are grown in the upper Missis- 

 sippi valley, where trees of great 

 hardiness are demanded. For 

 accounts of the pomological off- 

 shoots of our native Apples, see 

 Bailey, "Evolution of our Na- 

 tive Fruits, "and Craig & Hume, 

 "Native Crab Apples and their 

 Cultivated V ar i e t i e s," Iowa 2036. Iv.ature leaf of Pyrus 

 Acad. Sci. 1899. Soulardi (X JO. 



