ROSACEAE. — MALUS 281 



Malus prunifolia, var. rinki is closely related to M. pnmila, but can be distinguished 

 by its more sharply serrate and usually less tomentose leaves, the longer pedicels 

 and chiefly by the smaller fruit not impressed at the apex, but with a raised calyx 

 thickened and fleshy at the base. 



This Apple grows spontaneously on the margins of woods and on the banks of 

 mountain torrents inHsing-shanHsien and in the contiguous district of PatungHsien 

 at an altitude of from 1300 to 1600 m., but it is rare. The region is very mountainous 

 and sparsely inhabited, and the chance of these trees being escapes from cultiva- 

 tion is very slight. In size, habit and general appearance the tress much resemble 

 those of the common European Apple. The flowers look the same, but the fruit- 

 stalk is much longer and more slender in the Chinese Apple. On the wild tree the 

 fruit is greenish yellow and sometimes slightly tinged with red on one side. 



In western Hupeh and eastern Szech'uan the Apple, colloquially known as 

 Lin-chien, is sparingly cultivated from river-level to altitudes of 1500 m., but in 

 the warm valleys of western Szech'uan its cultivation extends up to 3300 m. alti- 

 tude. The fruit is small, seldom more than IJ^ inches in diameter and slightly 

 longer than broad, of a pleasant bitter-sweet flavor and varies in color from 

 greenish to greenish yellow and is rosy on one side; occasionally it is nearly all red. 

 The apples grown in the cold regions near Tachien-lu and Sungpan Ting are better 

 than those grown in the warmer regions contiguous to the Yangtsze River in 

 Hupeh and Szech'uan. 



Formerly this Chinese Apple was cultivated in Japan for its fruit, but since the 

 introduction of varieties of the European Apple its cultivation as a fruit tree has 

 been discontinued. It has, however, been largely used as a stock on which to 

 graft the imported varieties of the European Apple. E. H. W. 



Malus Prattii Schneider, IlL Handb. Lauhholzk. I. 719, fig. 397 p-pS 

 398 k-m (1906); in Fedde, Rep. Spec. Nov. III. 178 (1906). 



Pyrus Prattii Hemsley in Kew Bull. Misc. Inform. 1895, 16. 



Western Szech'uan: southeast of Tachien-lu, woodlands, alt. 

 2600-3200 m., June and October 1908 (No. 1252; tree 5-10 m. tall, 

 0.30-1 m. girth, fruit yellow) ; Tachien-lu, woodlands, alt. 2600-3000 

 m., October 1910 (No. 4112; tree 5-8 m. tall); same locality, A. E. 

 Pratt (No. 93 and 824); Wa-shan, woodlands, alt. 2600 m., June and 

 October 1908 (No. 1107; tree 7 m. tall, flowers white, fruit yellow); 

 Mupin, woodlands, alt. 2300-2800 m., June and October 1908 (No. 

 1107"; tree 5-7 m. tall, flowers white, fruit red); without precise 

 locality, July 1904 (Veitch Exped. No. 3498). 



This is a very distinct species and is apparently related to M. sikkiinaisis Koehne 

 with which it shares the peculiarity of having the fruits marked by white dots. It 

 is, however, easily distinguished from the Himalaj-an species by the jiersistent 

 calyx and the glabrous or nearly glabrous leaves of a peculiar Ught yellowish green 

 color. 



Malus baccata Desfontaines, var. mandshurica Schneider, III. 

 Handb. Laubholzk. I. 721, fig. 397 n (1906). — INIatsumura, Ind. PI. 



