WHITE THORN 
WHITE THORN. SCARLET HAW. SCARLET 
FRUITED THORN 
Cra legus coccin ea. 
A low tree fifteen to twenty feet high with short stout trunk, 
crooked spreading branches forming a broad flat head; common 
throughout the northern states. Roots fibrous. Found either in 
thickets or solitary, in upland woods, in rocky pastures or near the 
borders of streams. 
Bark.—-Light brown, or ashy gray, slightly fissured surface broken 
into small scales. Branchlets at first light green, lustrous, later red- 
dish or light brown or light gray, finally become armed with slender 
straight or slightly curved, brown, shining, persistent spines one or 
two inches long. 
IVood.—Brown, tinged with red; heavy, hard and close-grained. 
Sp. gr., 0.8618 ; weight of cu. ft., 53.71 lbs. 
Winter Buds.—Globular, tiny, chestnut brown. Inner scales grow 
with the growing shoot, becoming an inch long before they fall. 
Leaves.—Alternate, simple, broad-ovate, one to five inches long, 
wedge-shaped, rounded or truncate at base, acutely cut or slightly 
five to nine-lobed, sharply and finely serrate, acute. Feather-veined, 
midrib prominent, primary veins strongest toward the base. They 
come out of the bud, conduplicate, green ; when full grown they are 
thin, smooth, shining, bright green above, paler green beneath. 
They turn bright yellow in autumn. Petioles Jong, slender, grooved, 
smooth or hairy. Stipules are leaf-like, serrate, acute, early decid- 
uous. 
flowers—May, when leaves are nearly grown. Perfect, white, 
borne in few-flowered corymbs, on slender pedicels ; vary in size 
from one-half inch to one inch in diameter with strong and disagree- 
able odor. 
Calyx.—Urn-shaped, five-lobed ; lobes much shorter than the 
vetals, finally reflexed, imbricate in bud. 
Petals.—Five, inserted on the calyx tube, white, obovate, erose, 
imbricate in bud. 
Stamens.--Ten, inserted with the petals; filaments thread-like ; 
anthers purple, introrse, two-celled; cells opening longitudinally. © 
Pistil.—Ovary of two to five carpels, inserted in the bottom of the 
calyx tube and united with it; styles two to five ; stigmas capitate ; 
ovules two. 
Fruit.—Drupe-like pome with bony stones, borne in umbels of two 
or three; bright scarlet, crowned with the calyx lobes; globular or 
slightly elongated, one-third to one-half an inch in diameter. Sep- 
tember or October ; remains all winter, somewhat edible. 
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