NOTES FROM A GARDEN HERBARIUM. 



473 



with a tendency to become lobed, obtuse or even trun- 

 cate at the top, on short (i inch or less) and thick pubes- 

 cent petioles, very thick and conspicuously rugose and 

 clothed below with a dense tomentum like the ordinary 

 apple leaf, which it much resembles in color and texture ; 

 flowers smaller than in P. coronaria, crowded in close 

 clusters like those of the common apple, and borne on 

 short {Yz to ^4 in. long), densely white-woolly pedicels. 

 A rather upright and stout-growing tree, occurring from 

 Minnesota (Lake Calhoun, ///'. //. Mann.) to Texas 

 (Gillespie Co., G. Jenny). Judging from the few speci- 

 mens in herbaria, this must be an uncommon species. 

 In fact, I have seen but three wild specimens, as fol- 

 lows : Lake Calhoun, Minn., Hb. Mann. (Cornell 

 University), St. Louis, Mo., Hb.Torrey., andTexas, Hb. 

 Dept. Agr. I have the cultivated plant from several 

 sources. Fig. 5 shows a typical mature leaf of the Soul- 

 ard crab. In Fig. 6, the one on the left comes from the 

 inflorescence. 



It is a pleasure to dedicate this species to Mr. Soulard, 

 not only in recognition of his services in introducing it 

 to cultivation, but also because he introduced the Miner 

 plum, the first native plum to be cultivated under a name. 



Pyrus Ioensis, neic .•^pt-cies. ( Pyyits coronaria, var. 

 loensis, Wood, CI. Bk. Botany, 333 — 1860. Figs. 7, 8.) 



Leaves rather large, firm in texture and white-pubes- 

 cent beneath, on stout and rather thick pubescent petioles 

 (i to lYz in. long), various in shape : those in the inflores- 

 cence are oblong and blunt and marked above the middle 

 by notches, as shown in Fig. 7, while the mature leaves 

 range from elliptic-oblong to ovate-oblong, and are irreg- 

 gularly and mostly bluntly toothed, and bearing a few 

 notches or right-angled lobes or teeth ; flowers nearly or 

 quite as large as in P. coronaria, on rather slender but 

 white-pubescent pedicels an inch or so long. A small 

 tree, growing in Wisconsin, Illinois (Kentucky ? ), Iowa 

 and Kansas. This is the common crab apple of the 

 states mentioned, and it is probably common in adjoin- 

 ing states west of the Great Lakes, wholly taking the 

 place of P. coronaria. Fig. 8 shows typical forms of 

 leaves. The cluster to the left is from the inflorescence. 

 The others are mature leaves, the middle one being from 

 a vigorous shoot. The only description of this tree as 

 distinct from the eastern crab, which I have ever found, 

 is Wood's characterization of it as P. coronaria, var. Jocn- 

 sis, as follows : " Lvs. (when young), pedicels and calyx 

 densely tomentous. Lvs. ovate and oblong, distinctly 

 lobed ; (fr. not seen). Sent from Iowa by Dr. Cousens." 



Pyrus loensis is a variable species. The leaves upon 

 young and strong shoots are sometimes triangular-ovate, 

 but the blunt teeth, thick petioles and white tomentum 

 distinguish them from P. coronaria, the leaves of which 

 upon similar shoots are very sharp-toothed. The inflor- 

 escence and accompanying foliage, barring the white 

 pubescence, is often much like P. angustifolia . It is not 

 improbable that it may be found to simulate P. coronaria 

 upon its eastern limits. 



There is another crab in Iowa which appears to be 

 distinct from any of the foregoing. I know it only from 



specimens sent me by B. A. Mathews, of Knoxville, la., 

 who is cultivating it ; and from a cluster of leaves in the 

 Gray Herbarium. It has very large apple-like, smooth 

 leaves. Mr. Mathews writes that a variety of this which 

 he has in cultivation gave fruit last fall which "sold at 

 one dollar per bushel, while good fruit of Grimes' Gol- 

 den, Roman Stem and others was selling for fifty to 

 seventy-five cents." 



There is certainly much to be expected from the wild 

 crabs of the west. The fruit is variable and often of 

 great size and attractive color and flavor. Unfortunate- 

 ly, we do not know which of the species possess the most 

 merit. Some extracts from my correspondence, con- 

 cerning the native crabs, will indicate something of their 

 possibilities : 



B. A. Mathews, Iowa : "I saw specimens of another 



Fig. 7. Pyrus Ioensis. 



wild crab last fall which reminded me of small Grimes, 

 Golden. It was the nicest one I have seen." 



J. S. Harris, Minnesota : " I saw a sample of native 

 crab last fall that was larger than the Soulard, and quite 

 distinct from it. " 



D. B. Wier, formerly of Illinois : " Along the streams 

 in northern Illinois I have seen many wild crabs the 

 superior of the Soulard in every characteristic, yet none 

 with qualities such as would give them much value for 

 cultivation, though many might be useful as culinary 

 fruits. If the quince is a valuable culinary fruit, the 

 better varieties of the wild American crab are worthy a 

 place in the garden and orchard for the same purposes. 

 The crab is much the hardier, handsomer tree, and sub- 

 ject to much fewer ills than the quince, and is usually 



