Vol.. II.] 



APPLE FAMILY. 



233 



i. SORBUS L-. Sp. PI. 477. 1753. 



Trees or shrubs, with alternate pinnate leaves, serrate leaflets, deciduous stipules, and 

 perfect regular white flowers, in terminal compound cymes. Calyx-tube urn-shaped, 5-lobed, 

 not bracteolate. Petals 5, spreading, short-clawed. Stamens oo . Ovary inferior; styles usu- 

 ally 3, distinct; stigma truncate; ovules 2 in each cavity. Fruit a small red berry-like pome, 

 its carpels not cartilaginous. [The ancient Latin name of the Pear or Service-tree.] 



A genus of about 7 species, natives of the north temperate zone. Besides the following, another 

 occurs in western North America. 



Leaflets long-acuminate; fruit 2" -3" in diameter. 



Leaflets obtuse or short-pointed; fruit about 4" in diameter. 



1. 5. Americana. 



2. 5. sambucifolia. 



\ 



i. Sorbus Americana Marsh. American 

 Mountain Ash. Dogberry. (Fig. 1 975.) 



Sorbus Americana Marsh. Arb. Am. 145. 1785. 

 Sorbus >microcar pa Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 341. 1814. 

 Pyrus Americana DC. Prodr. 2: 637. 1825. 



A small tree, with smooth bark, reaching a maxi- 

 mum height of 30 and a trunk diameter of 18'. 

 Leaf-buds acute; leaves petioled; leaflets 11-17, lan- 

 ceolate, long-acuminate, glabrous on both sides or 

 slightly pubescent when young, bright green above, 

 generally paler beneath, i^ / -4 / long, sharply serrate 

 with mucronate teeth; cymes densely compound, 

 3'-6' broad; flowers 2 // -3 // broad; fruit globose, 

 bright red, 2"-$" in diameter. 



In low woods or moist ground, Newfoundland to 

 Manitoba, south, especially along the mountains, to 

 North Carolina and to Michigan. Wood soft, light 

 brown; weight per cubic foot 34 Ibs. Called also Amer- 

 ican Service Tree. A closely related or identical form 

 occurs in Japan. May-June. 



2. Sorbus sambucifolia (C. &S.) Roem. Western Mountain Ash. (Fig. 1976.) 



Pyrus sambucifolia C. & S. Linnaea, 2: 36. 1827. 

 Sorbus sambucifolia Roem. Syn. Mon. 3: 39. 1847. 



A small tree or often a shrub, closely resembling 

 the preceding species. Leaf-buds acute; leaflets 

 7-15, proportionately broader and shorter, oval or 

 ovate-lanceolate, obtuse or short-pointed at the apex, 

 sharply serrate, glabrous and dark green above, pale 

 and usually more or less pubescent beneath, especi- 

 ally along the veins, seldom over 3' long; flowers 

 3 ff -$W broad; calyx and pedicels generally pubes- 

 cent; cymes 2 / -4 / broad; fruit globose, red, about 4" 

 in diameter. 



In moist ground, Labrador to Alaska, northern New 

 England, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and in the Rocky 

 Mountains to Colorado and Utah. Wood similar to that 

 of the preceding; weight per cubic foot 37 Ibs. Occurs 

 also in northeastern Asia. June-July. 



Sorbus Aucuparia L-, the European Mountain Ash, 

 Rowan Tree or Quick-beam, has the leaves pubescent 

 on both sides, especially when young, the calyx and 

 pedicels usually woolly. Often planted; reported as 

 escaped from cultivation in Prince Edward Island. 



2. PYRUS L. Sp. PI. 479- 1753- 



Trees, or some species shrubs, with simple leaves. Flowers large, showy, white or pink, 

 in simple terminal cymes. Calyx urn-shaped, 5-lobed, the lobes acute. Petals 5, rounded, 

 short-clawed. Stamens usually numerous; styles mostly 5, distinct, or united only at the 

 very base; ovules 2 in each cavity; carpels cartilaginous or leathery. Fruit a pome, usually 

 pear-shaped, its flesh abounding in grit-cells. [Latin name of the Pear.] 



About 12 species, natives of the Old World. 



