CHAP. XLII. 220SA V CE,E. ME SPILUS. 877 



in habit and general appearance like A. (v.) Botryapium; but at once 

 recognised as distinct by the shortness of its stamens. The leaves of this 

 plant somewhat resemble those of the hornbeam ; the flowers are white, 

 with petals varying in length, some having measured more than £ of an 

 inch. It flowers later, and the fruit ripens later, than in any of the other 

 sorts. It was discovered by Mr. Douglas, on the north-west coast of North 

 America, and sent to England by him in 1826. There is now a good spe- 

 cimen of the tree in the Horticultural Society's Garden, upwards of 10 ft. 

 high. In general habit, it is somewhat more fastigiate than the other sorts, 

 unless we except A. sanguinea, to which, Dr. Lindley observes, it is very 

 near akin. Possibly a distinct species, but we doubt it. 



Variety. 



ft A (v.)f. 2 parvifolia, the A. parvifolia of the Horticultural Society's 

 Garden, is of a dwarf habit, not growing above 3 ft. or 4 ft. high, and 

 smaller leaves. It appears to us only a variety of A. (v.) florida ; 

 which, like all the species of the genus, varies exceedingly, according 

 to soil, situation, age of the plant, stock on which it is grafted, &c. 

 It is from having observed the extraordinary difference in the ap- 

 pearances which the same plant assumes in the different London 

 nurseries, that we have been tempted to hazard the conjecture that 

 they have all probably originated in the same species. We have 

 now before us specimens of A. (v.) florida, from the Fulham Nursery, 

 with leaves 1£ in. broad, and 2^ in. long, with their margins deeply 

 notched; while those from the Horticultural Society's Garden 

 are about two thirds of the size, and quite entire. We have also 

 leaves of A. Botryapium from the Fulham Nursery, 4 in. long in- 

 cluding the footstalk, and3iin. without it; and 2 in. broad; while 

 those from the Horticultural Society's Garden are only If in. long, 

 and 1 in. broad ; and those from Messrs. Loddiges are still smaller. 



Genus XVII. 



f If 



ME'SPILUS Lindl. The Medlar. Lin. SysU Icosandria Di-Pentagynia. 



Identification. Lindl. in Lin. Trans., 13. p. 99. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 633. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 6. 

 Synonytnes. 3/tspilus sp. of Lin. and others ; Mespilophora sp. of Neck. 

 Derivation. From mesos, a half, and pilos, a bullet ; fruit resembling half a bullet. 



Description, Sj-c. Deciduous trees of the middle size, natives of Europe ; 

 the first species is cultivated for its fruit, which is eatable, and the seeds of 

 which are accounted anti-lithic ; and the other as an ornamental shrub, or 

 low tree, of the general character of a Crataegus, to which genus it may 

 indeed be considered as properly belonging. They are propagated by grafting 

 on the quince, the wild pear, or the common hawthorn. The price, in the 

 nurseries, is the same as for Crataegus. 



1 1. JVt. germa'nica L. The German, or common, Medlar. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 684. ; Pall. Fl. Ross., 1. 13. f. 1. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 633. ; Don's Mill., 2. 



p. 605. 

 Engravings. Pall. Fl. Ross., t. 13. f. 1. ; and the plate of this species in our Second Volume. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves lanceolate, tomentose beneath, undivided. Flowers 

 solitary. {Dec. Prod., ii. p. 633.) A deciduous tree of the second rank ; a 

 native of Europe and the west of Asia, in bushy places and woods ; and said 

 to be found, also, in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and about Chester, in England; 

 apparently in a truly wild state in Sussex. (See Mag. Nat. Hist., vo\.ix. p. 86.) 

 It flowers in May and June, and the fruit ripens in October and November. 

 This tree was known to the Greeks, and has been in cultivation in British 

 gardens for an indefinite period ; not only the species, but several varieties, 



