PYRU.S. 



Pcric. Apple roiindirti, umliilicated, flefhy, with from two 

 to five membranous, more or Icfs rigid, cells. Seeds two, 

 rarely more, in eacli cell, oblong, obtule, pointed at the 

 bafe, convex on one fide, flat on the other. 



EfT. Ch. Calyx five -cleft. Petals five. Apple inferior, 

 of from two to five cells. Seeds two in each cell. 



Our remarks under the article Mespilus apply equally 

 to the prcfent genus, as to the propriety of referring to it 

 the whole Linnafan genus of Sorbus, and fomc fpecies of 

 Cratiigus and MeJ'p'ilus ; difregarding the difference in the 

 number of their ilyles, which is evidently uncertain and 

 variable, and diftinguilhing Mefp'ilus by its berry, Pyrus by 

 its apple. Even this diftmiSion proves, in fome initanccs, 

 obfcurc enough. We (hall, for convenience, follow Will- 

 denow in the order of the fpecies, introducing our addi- 

 tional ones according to their affinities. 



1. Y. arluhfolia. Arbutus-leaved Dwarf Apple. Linn. 

 Suppl. 256. Willd. n. I. Ait. n. i. Purfh n. i. Wan- 

 gcnh. Amer. %<j. t. 28. f. 64. (Mefpilus arbutifolia ; 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 685. Crataegus virginiana, foliis arbuti ; 

 Mill. Ic. t. 109.) — Leaves obovate, pointed, ferrated ; 

 downy beneath ; their mid-rib glandular above. Flowers 

 corymbofe. Calyx downy. — Common in low copfes and 

 fwamps, from Canada to Carolina, flowering ni May and 

 June. Purfi. Frequent in gardens. A bufhyyZvK^, with- 

 out thorns, three or four feet high. Leaves two inches 

 long, neatly ferrated, more or lefs downy. Flowers white, 

 terminal. Fruit red, the fize of a currant, meally, and not 

 eatable. 



2. P. melanocarpa. Black Bilberry Apple. Willd. 

 Enum. 525. Purdi n. 2. (P. arbutifolia (i ; Willd. Sp. 

 PI. n. I. and Ait. n. i. MefpiUu arbutifolia; Schmidt 

 Arb. 86. Pur/h.) — Leaves obovate-oblong, pointed, fer- 

 rated ; fmooth beneath ; their mid-rib glandular above. 

 Flowers corymbofe. Calyx fmooth. — Found in the bogs 

 of Canada, and on the high mountains of Pennfylvania, Vir- 

 ginia, and Carolina, flowering in May and June. The 



J'riiit is large and black, refembling in tafte the berries of 

 f^acclnium penfylvankum. Purjlj. 



3. Y. Botryapium. Snowy Berry Apple. Linn. Suppl. 

 255. Willd. n. 2. Ait. n. 2. Purfli n. 3. Wangenh. 

 Amer. 90. t. 28. f. 61^. (Mefpilus canadenfis ; Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 685. Schmidt Arb. t. 84. ) — Leaves oblong-elliptical, 

 ferrated, minutely pointed, finally fmooth. Flowers race- 

 mofe. Petals linear-lanceolate. Germen downy. Seg- 

 ments of the calyx Imooth. — Native of woods and hedges 

 from Canada to Carolina, bloffoming in April and May. 

 Purjb. Frequent in our flirubberies. A fmall tree. The 

 young leagues are covered with denfe woolly deciduous down. 

 Floivers pure white, in lax terminal clujlers. Fruit black, 

 faid by Mr. Purfli to have a very agreeable tafle. It is 

 feldom perfefted with u.-!. 



4. P. ovnlis. Oval Berry Apple. Willd. n. 3. Purfh 

 n. 4.. (Mefpdus Amclanchier ? Walt. Carol. 148. Cra- 

 tagus fpicata; Lamarck Dift. v. i. 84.) — Leaves roundifh- 

 elliptical, acute, ferrated, fmooth. Flowers racemofe. Pe- 

 tals obovate. Germen and fegments of the calyx downy. — 

 Native of fwamps, from New Jerfey to Carolina, flowering 

 in April and May. A fmallyJru^ ; the fruit black, eatable. 

 Purfi. Lamarck, who firit dillinguifhed this fpecies, fays 

 it is twice or thrice as tall as the following, at leaft in the 

 French gardens, with rounder leaves and fmaller Jla-jjers, 

 while the fruit is larger, being as big as a floe. The nar- 

 row coloured deciduous braSeas moreover, which occur in 

 both fpecies, are in the prefent longer than each partial 



fiuwer-ftalk, which is not the cafe with P. Amelancbier. 



5. P. Amelanchier. Alpine Berry Apple. Linn. Suppl. 

 Vol. XXIX. 



256. Willd. n. 4. Ait. n. 3. (Mefpilus Amelanchier ; 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 685. Jacq. Aullr. t. 300. Mill. Ic. t. 178. 

 f. I. Vaccinia alba ; Ger. Em. 1416.) — Leaves roundifll- 

 elliptical, acute, ferrated ; downy beneath. Flowers race- 

 mole. Petals lanceolate. Germen fomewhat downy. Seg- 

 ments of tlie calyx fmooth — Native of rocky mountainous 

 fituations in Germany, Switzerland, France, and the ifle of 

 Crete ; common in (hrubberies, ever fince Gerarde's time, 

 blofloming in May. From three to fix feet high, or more 

 when cultivated, making an elegant appearance with its 

 copious drooping chillers of ino\vy Jlotuers , whok^ei/is are 

 very woolly. Fruit blueifli-black, fweet, the fize of a cur- 

 rant. 



6. P. cretica. Cretan Berry Apple. Willd. n. 5. Prodr. 

 Fl. Grsc. n. 1 157. ( Chamoscerafus Idoea ; Alpin. Exol. 

 4.) — Leaves roundilli, emarginate, with a fmall point, fer- 

 rated ; woolly beneath. Flowers racemofe. Petals lanceo- 

 late. Germen and fegments of the calyx woolly. — Fourid 

 on the mountains of Crete. This differs from the laft, of 

 which it is juflly fufpefted of being a mere variety, in having 

 rounder leaves, whofe pubefcence underneath is more per- 

 manent ; as well as in having more woollinefs about the 



Jloivers. 



7. P. fanguinea. Red Berry Apple. Purfh n. 5. (Mef- 

 pilus canadenfis ■>, rotundifolia ; Micliaux Borcali-Amer. 

 V. I. 291.) — " Leaves oval, obtufe at each end, pointed, 

 finely ferrated ; fomewhat heart-fhaped at the bafe. Cluf- 

 ters of few flowers. Calyx fmooth. Petals linear, ob- 

 tufe." — Found in Canada, and on the banks of the Co- 

 lumbia, flowering in April and May. A fmall tree, with 

 blood-red branches. Fruit red, eatable. Purfl.K 



8. P. communis. Common Pear-tree. Linn. Sp. PI. 686. 

 Willd. n. 6. Ait. n. 4. Sm. Fl. Brit. n. i. Engl. Bot. 

 t. 1784. — Leaves ovate, ferrated, finally fmooth. Flower- 

 ftalks corymbofe. Fruit elongated at the bafe. — Native 

 of various parts of Europe, but even more general as a 

 cultivated plant, the varieties of whofe fruit are many of 

 them highly valuable for the table. The truly wild, or 

 iron, pear is not eatable. It blofl'oms in April or May. 

 The tree is tall and handfome ; the wood light, fine-grained, 

 and tolerably hard, making neat furniture. The branches, 

 at firft creft, fubfequcntly become curved downwards, and 

 pendulous. The ierratures of the leaves commonly difap- 

 pear by culture, as do the ftrong thorns found on the wild 

 tree. When young, the leaves are downy beneath, and 

 frinsred with white. Floivers white, with pale red anthers ; 

 their inflorefcence corymbofe, not umbellate as in the apple. 

 Fruit obovate, more or lefs elongated at the bafe. 



9. P. poUveria. Woolly-leaved Pear-tree. Linn. Mant. 

 2. 244. Willd. n. 7. Ait. n. 5. (P. pollwilleriana ; 

 Bauh. Hill. V. I. 59. Munch. Haufv. v. 3. part 2. 333.) 

 — Leaves ovate, flrongly ferrated; moll downy beneath. 

 Flower-ilalks corymbofe, fubdivided. — Native of Germany, 

 according to baron Munchhaufen. John Bauhin firfl met 

 with it in the garden of baron Pollwill, in Alfatia. It was 

 fent to Kcw, in 1786, by the late Mr. Grajffer. Tliis dif- 

 fers from the common Pear-tree in having the leaves downy 

 ou both fides, but efpecially beneath; tht Jloivers cream- 

 coloured, much fmaller and more numerous, even forty in 

 each corymb, their partial flalks being branched and forked. 

 The fruit is fmall, fometimes but an inch long, and falls 

 eafily when ripe. 



10. P. nivalis. Snow Pear-tree. Jacq. Auflr. v. 2. 4. 

 t. 107. Liun. Suppl. 253. Willd. n. 8. — Leaves obo- 

 vate, obtufe, pointed, entire ; hoary beneath. Flower- 

 flalks corymbofe. Fruit nearly globofe. — Native of moun- 

 tains in Auflria, about the borders of woods and vineyards, 



O flowering 



