ROSE FAMILY 



MOUNTAIN ASH 



Pviiis a/'icn\'thiti 



A small tree which loves the north and climbs the high mountain 

 ranges of Airginia and North Carolina, but does not cross the Rock- 

 ies. Prefers a ncli moist soil and the borders of swamps, but will 

 llourish on rock\- hillsides. Attains its largest size on the northern 

 shores of Lakes Huron and Superior ; in the United States it is usu- 

 aU_\' a shrub. 



Bar/:. — Light gray, smooth, surface scaly. Branchlets downy at 

 first, later become smooth, brown tinged with red, lenticular, finally 

 they become darker and the papery outer layer becomes easily sep- 

 arable. 



Jl'ooif. — Pale brown ; light, soft, close-grained but weak. Sp. gr., 

 0.5451 ; Weight of cu. ft., 33.97 lbs. 



U'inltT Bii,is. — Hark red, acute, one-fourth to three-quarters of 

 an inch long. Inner scales are \ery tomentose and enlarge with 

 the growing shoot. 



Li\t7\-s. — .Mtern.ite. compound, unequ.illy pinnate, six to ten 

 inches long. \\\i\\ slender. groo\ed. dark green or red petiole. Leaflets 

 thuteen to seventeen, l.iiiceolate or long oval, two to three inches 

 long, one-halt to two-tliirds broad, unequally wedge-shaped or 

 rounded at base, serrate, acuminate, sessile, the terminal one some- 

 times borne on a stalk half an inch long, feather-veined, midrib 

 prominent Ijeiiealh. grooved above. They come out of the bud 

 downy, conduplicate ; when full gro" n are smooth, dark vellow green 

 above and paler beneath. In autumn they turn a clear yellow. 

 Stipules leaf-like, caducous. 



FIoiL'ns. — May, June, after the leaves are full grown. Perfect, 

 white, one-eighth ot an inch across, borne in tlat compound cvmes 

 three or four inches across. Kracts and bractlets acute, minute, 

 caducous. 



Ca/yx. — I'm-shaped, hairy, five-lobcd ; lobes, short, acute, im- 

 bricate in bud. 



CoroH.j . — Petals five, creamy white, orbicular, contracted into 

 short claws, insei'tcd on calyx, imbricate in bud. 



Stdiiii-ns. — Twenty to thirty, inserted on calyx tulie ; lilaments 

 thread-like ; anthers introrse, two-celled ; cells opening longi- 

 tudinally. 



Pistil — Two to three carpels inserted in the bottom of the calyx 

 tube and united into an inferior ovary. Styles two to three; stig- 

 mas capitate ; o\ ulcs two in each cell. 



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