NOTES FROM A GARDEN HERBARIUM— V/. 



471 



in the Gardeners' Monthly: "The Soulard grows at 

 Pembina, more than 300 miles north of St. Paul. The 

 Soulard of all other crabs is the most valuable. It can 



Fig. 



Leaf of Pyrus coronaria. 



not be used as an eating apple. It is bitter, worse than 

 a quince, but for preserves it is quite equal if not super- 

 ior to the quince. We consider it to-day the most valu" 

 able fruit grown in the northwest." 



Fig. 4 shows a rather small fruit of the Soulard 

 crab, five-eighths natural size. Downing's descrip- 

 tion suits the variety well, although the fruit appears 

 to be variable in size and shape : " Fruit medium, ob- 

 late, clear smooth greenish yellow, with many minute, 

 suffused dark green dots. Stalk short for a crab ; slen- 

 der, narrow cavity . Calyx small, closed ; basin medium, 

 slightly corrugated." 



So far as I know, the Soulard crab has always been 

 regarded as Pyrus coronaria, or as a hybrid between it 

 and the common apple. I have long doubted both these 

 suppositions, and for the last year I have collected much 

 material, both in specimens and in correspondence, re- 

 lating to our wild crabs. Any one familiar with Pyrus 

 coronaria as it grows in the eastern states will at once 

 observe that the leaves and short petioles and peduncle 

 of the Soulard crab in Fig. 4 belong to some other spe- 



cies. Botanists are aware that Pyrus coronaria has been 

 regarded as an exceedingly variable species, but the 

 differences between it and the Soulard are of such a 

 character, it seems to me, as to separate the latter at 

 once as a distinct species. My first impression was that 

 it might be a hybrid, but closer study has convinced me 

 that it is not, and this later conclusion is fortified by the 

 fact that the plant occurs in a wild state from Minnesota, 

 apparently, to Texas. But the difficulties do not stop 

 with the Soulard crab, for there appear to be two well- 

 marked species, and perhaps even three, growing in the 

 Mississippi Valley west of the Great Lakes, and all of 

 them are apparently distinct from Pyrus coronaria of the 

 east. These statements may be somewhat startling, but 

 I can come to no other conclusion after much study for 

 many months. But whatever value my conclusions 

 may ultimately be found to possess, I hope that the 

 arrangement now proposed will serve to elucidate the 

 confused knowledge of our wild crab apples. 



Figs. I, 2 and 3 are good illustrations of Pyrus coron- 

 aria, as understood by Linnaeus and the earlier botanists. 

 The particular characters of this species to which I wish 

 to call attention are the triangular-ovate, thin and smooth 

 very sharply toothed leaves, and long, thin and smooth 

 petioles and pedicels. The leaves are variable in size 

 and shape, but the broad base is always apparent, the 

 teeth are straight and sharp, and the texture is firm. 

 Old leaves, es- 

 pecially upon 

 vigorous 

 shoots, are oft- 

 en prominently 

 lobed, as in 



Fig. 3- A 

 southern spe- 

 cies, Pyrus an- 

 gust if olid, 

 growing from 



Fig. 4. Soulard Crab {Pyrus Soulardi). y% Natural 

 Size. 



southern Pennsylvania southwards, is more easily con- 

 fused with P. coronaria than are the western forms. 



