7 
under the name of “Kaido,” a name which in Japan belongs to M. 
Halliana. In Japan M. micromalus is rare and known only in gardens, 
and by Japanese botanists it is believed to have been introduced into 
their country from China and to be a hybrid possibly of M. baccata and 
M. spectabilis. In habit this Crab is more pyramidal than that of the 
other species and hybrids, and this habit makes the plants conspicuous 
in the collection. They are covered this year with their small pale 
pink, delicate flowers which will be followed by light yellow fruit often 
rose color on one cheek. The largest Arboretum specimen is in the 
collection at the eastern base of Peter’s Hill. 
Malus theifera, which is one of Wilson’s discoveries in western China, 
promises to be a good addition to the list of early flowering Crabs, Its 
long, upright, and spreadipg, rather zigzag branches make it easy to 
distinguish at any season of the year; they are continuously studded 
with short spur-like laterals which bear numerous clusters of flowers 
rose-red in the bud and pale or almost white when fully expanded. In 
central China the peasants collect the leaves and prepare from them 
the palatable beverage which they call ‘Ted tea.” Malus theifera has 
now flowered for several years in the Arboretum, the largest plant be- 
ing in the Peter’s Hill collection where it is now a conspicuous object. 
In the color of its rose-red flov/ers drooping on slender stalks Malus 
Halliana with its variety Parkmanii, which has double flowers, is per- 
haps the most distinct of all Crabapples, It is a small tree with erect 
and spreading branches which form a narrow, vase-like head, and dark 
green leaves; the globose reddish fruit is not larger than a small pea. 
It is well known in Massachusetts gardens, having been sent by George 
R. Hall, in 1862, to Boston, where it was first planted in Mr. Francis 
Parkman’s garden on the shores of Jamaica Pond. The Parkman Crab 
is a favorite in Japanese gardens where it is known as “Kaido” and 
was no doubt imported into Japan from China where the single-flowered 
form was found by Wilson. Whatever its origin the Parkman Crab 
is one of the most distinct and beautiful of the small trees which are 
now flowering here in the Arboretum, although normally the flowers 
do not open before the 10th of May. 
Malus floribunda, by many persons considered the most beautiful of 
Crabapples, was introduced into Europe by Von Siebold in 1853 from 
Nagasaki in southern Japan. The place where this little tree grows 
wild still remains unknown, and by some persons it has been considered 
a hybrid of Chinese origin; more probably, however, it originated on 
one of the high mountains of Kyushu. Japanese botanists and nursery- 
men confuse it with the Parkman Crab, and Wilson did not find it in 
Japanese gardens. It is a broad, round-topped tree-like shrub some- 
times twenty-five feet tall, with stout branches and slender, arching and 
pendant branchlets. The clusters of flowers are white when fully ex- 
panded and are rose-red in the bud, and as they open in succession the 
two colors make a handsome contrast. The fruit is about the size of 
a pea, yellowish or yellowish-brown. On some plants it falls in early 
autumn and on others it remains on the branches during the winter or 
until devoured by birds who find it one of their most palatable winter 
foods. Malus floribunda rarely fails to produce abundant crops of flow- 
