206 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



This is also a small tree, loosely pyramidal in habit 

 and of hybrid origin and one of its parents is assumed 

 to be M. spectabilis. 



The next species to make its debut in this country 

 is the celebrated Parkman Crab (M. Halliana) which 

 was sent from Japan to the United States by Dr. 

 George R. Hall in 1861, and first cultivated by Francis 

 Parkman, the historian, in his garden on the shores of 

 Jamaica Pond, Boston, Mass. This is a tree-like 

 shrub with a broad, bushy crown and twiggy branch- 

 lets and rather thick, dark green leaves deeply tinged 

 with bronze color where they unfold. The flowers, 

 each on a long slender stalk, are borne in clusters and 

 are bright rose color, and these are followed by pea- 

 like dark greenish red fruit which ripen very late in 

 the fall. 



In a family so beautiful as the Crabapple there is 

 room for divergence of opinion as to which is the 

 finest, but many (of which I am one) consider the 

 Parkman Crab the most winsome of all the Asiatic 

 species. The type has flowers single or nearly so, 

 but there is a form (Parkmanii) which has double 

 or semi-double flowers. This lovely plant has long 

 been a favorite in the gardens of the flower-loving 

 Japanese who call it the "Kaido," but like many 

 plants cultivated in Japan it is of Chinese origin. 



