THE WHITEBEAM. 



THE WHITEBEAM (Pyrus Ana 



V 



The Whitebeam rarely exceeds 20 feet in height, and the main 

 stem can easily be distinguished throughout. The new shoots are 

 covered with white down, but the rest of the branches and the trunk 

 are smooth and of a dark silver-grey. The lower branches spread 

 horizontally, and are borne down by the weight of the fruit. The 

 higher ones necessarily have more of an upward tendency, and do not 

 extend far from the trunk : this gives the tree a pyramidal outline. 

 The unusual whiteness of the leaf-blades, on the under side, and the 

 size of the leaves, make the tree conspicuous, even from a distance. 

 This is especially the case when it grows on a hill-side, or when 



BRANCH OF WHITEBEAM 

 WITH BLOSSOM. 



