December, 1912 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



191 



same group, where of course they are natur- 

 ally closely related, is ob\iously hard to 

 explain in such a connection. 



THE GROUPS AND SPECIES 



As already stated, the American haw- 

 thorn fall into twenty-one well defined 

 groups — that is, they are well defined to 

 the critical observer but to casual obser- 

 vers they are not so clearly cut. It would 

 be out of place to freely discuss these 

 minute details here, but as they have some 

 decided horticultural significance, a brief 

 reference seems necessary. 



Several groups, having no species of 

 striking horticultural value, I have ignored 

 in this presentation. 



The chief groups and their characteristics 

 are briefly given in the following para- 

 graphs. 



Now, from our present practical stand- 

 point the distribution of these groups is im- 

 portant and offers some clue to a better 

 general understanding. Thus the Pruinosa; 

 group is remarkably well defined, and is 

 distinguished by its usually green, late- 

 ripening, and often prominently angled and 

 pruinose fruit, large flowers, long-petioled 

 leaves, usually very sparingly glandular, 

 and the fruits are always characterrized by 

 the calyx lobes situated on a collar at the 

 apex of the cup. In this group more than 

 one hundred species have been described. 



This group is mostly northern, and is 

 common in New York and Pennsylvania, 

 and extends to beyond the Mississippi. 



The Mediomaxae group has some features 

 in common with the pruinosae but the 

 calyx lobes are always sessile on the fruit 

 and pruinose, and rarely ever with twenty- 

 stamened flowers, and has about the same 

 distribution as the pruinosae. The other 

 groups are characterized thus: 



Tenuifoliae: Fruit usually short-oblong, 

 scarlet; anthers rose color; leaves thin, 

 usually deep green, oblong. 



Microcarpa?: Fruit sub-globose to ob- 

 long, comparatively small, scarlet; anthers 

 rose. (Well represented by Cratagns cor- 

 data). 



/Estivalis: Fruit usually depressed glo- 

 bose, red; few-flowered clusters, and flowers 

 appearing with or before the unfolding of 

 the leaves. 



Bracteatae: Fruit subglobose to short- 

 oblong, usually bright red; flower clusters 

 with large and conspicuous bracts; leaves 

 thick and dark green. 



Flavae: Fruit short-oblong to pyriform, 

 usually orange red; leaf stalks, leaves and 

 flower clusters, conspicuously glandular. 



Virides: Fruit sub-globose to oblong, 

 usually dark red; leaves thinnish, and 

 usually much tapering at the base. 



Tomentosae: Fruit usually pyriform, but 

 occasionally short-oblong, bright red; nut- 



lets always characterized by conspicuous 

 depressions on the inner faces; leaves 

 membranaceous to subcoriaceous and taper- 

 ing toward the base. 



Crus-galh: Fruit globose to short-ob- 

 long, usually bright red, and with a greenish 

 pulp ; leaves lustrous dark green above, and 

 much tapering at the base. 



Punctata;: Fruit oblong to globose, 

 usually large, and dotted; pulp dryish; 

 leaves much tapering at the base. 



Molles: Fruit sub-globose to pyriform, 

 crimson, scarlet and red, pulp juicy and 

 edible; flower clusters usually densely 

 tomentose or pubescent; leaves thin and 

 soft. 



Flabellatas: Fruit oblong to sub-globose, 

 scarlet or crimson, pulp succulent; leaves 

 thinnish and usually fan-shaped in outline; 

 flower clusters usually slightly tomentose. 



Intricate;: Fruit subglobose to oblong, 

 and usually brownish red, occasionally with 

 a yellowish green tinge; leaves thickish and 

 yellow green, and hi many species leaves 

 are concave; flower clusters very glandular. 



Dilatatae: Fruit short-oblong, lustrous 

 red and late ripening; calyx much enlarged 

 with stout prominent lobes; leaves broad or 

 broader than long. 



The Tenuifolae is mostly northern and 

 very rarely found in the South, and is per- 

 haps the most difficult group to understand. 

 The Microcarpae, iEstivalis, and Brac- 



In woodland nooks the wild hawthorns make some of the most glorious pictures of spring bloom [C. Elwangeriana) 



