THE CRAB APPLE. 



247 



encroach on the hase of the leaf-blade. At the base ot the leaf- 

 stalks are broad green stipules tipped like rudimentary leaves, and 

 having serrated edges, and a pair of narrower stipules serrated in the 

 same way. Below the stipules the dark bud-scales are still attached. 

 Both surfaces of the perfect leaf are smooth, the upper is soniewhat 

 the darker, the under is silvery, and divided by a prominent mid- 

 rib. The network of veins which cover the leaf-blade are con- 

 spicuous when it is seen against the sky. Some leaves are tapering, 

 others have blunted points, in all cases the edges are serrated, and 

 one halt ot the blade ioins the petiole higher up than the other, 

 making the base irregular. The puckered look which the leaves have 

 in the cultivated tree is absent in the Crab Apple. In their mature 

 stage the leaves become a vivid yellow-green. 



FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 



The dowers, though less abundant 

 than on the orchard tree, often cluster 

 nearer together, owing to the arrested 

 growth of the twigs. The petals are 

 white or white and pink, and appear 

 less crumpled. The apples hang on 

 longer, slighter stalks, and measure about 

 an inch in diameter. All the stalks of a 

 cluster spring from the same point on 

 the shoot, and the stalks are nearly- 

 equal in length. The colour of the 

 apples, at first a vivid green, changes to 

 yellow and red early in September. 



PLAN OF THE FLOWER. 



(Natural Size). 



