58 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Crataegus mellita n. sp. Sarg. 



Crataegus brainerdi Peck (not Sargent), N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 

 75- i9°4- P- i2- 



Leaves ovate, acuminate, rounded or occasionallv cuneate at the 

 glandular base, finely doubly serrate above, with slender glandular 

 teeth, occasionally divided into four or five pairs of narrow acumi- 

 nate lobes, about half grown when the flowers open the middle of 

 May and then membranaceous, dark yellow green, villose pubescent 

 along the midribs and slightly roughened by short white hairs above 

 and pale and glabrous below, at maturity thin, dark bluish green 

 and scabrate on the upper and pale blue green on the lower surface, 

 4.5-6 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, with slender yellow midribs, and 

 thin primary veins extending obliquely to the points of the lobes; 

 petioles slender, slightly wing-margined at the apex, grooved on 

 the upper side, glabrous, glandular toward the apex, 2-4 cm in 

 length. Flowers fragrant, about 1.5 cm in diameter, on short 

 slender glabrous pedicels, in compact 6 to 12-flowered corymbs; 

 calyx tube narrowly ob conic, glabrous, the lobes usually entire 

 or sparingly glandular serrate near the middle, often tinged with 

 red, reflexed after anthesis; stamens 20; filaments elongated, be- 

 coming red or pink, persistent and conspicuous on the fruit ; anthers 

 light red; styles three or four, usually three, surrounded at the base by 

 a few pale hairs. Fruit ripening late in September, on short erect 

 reddish pedicels, in few-fruited clusters, oblong to oblong-obovate, 

 full and rounded at the apex, gradually narrowed at the base, 

 bright scarlet, lustrous, 1.2-1.4 cm long and 8-9 mm wide; calyx 

 prominent, with a short tube, a narrow deep cavity, and reflexed 

 lobes bright red on the upper side below the middle and persistent 

 on the ripe fruit; flesh thin, yellow and edible; nutlets usually 

 three, gradually narrowed and rounded at the ends, ridged on the 

 back, with a low narrow ridge, about 7 mm long and 4 mm wide. 



A shrub 2-3 m high, with ascending or suberect stems, and slender 

 nearly straight branchlets marked by numerous small dark lenti- 

 cels, dark orange colored tinged with red when they first appear, 

 becoming light chestnut-brown, lustrous and pale gray brown in 

 their second season, and armed with light chestnut -brown shining 

 spines 3-3.5 cm long. 



Rocky pastures. Rare. Sand Lake, Charles H. Peck (#23 si, 

 type), May and September 1903, June 1905. 



The fragrant flowers are visited by large numbers of honeybees. 



