Part 16

+RED HAW+ Crataegus mollis Scheele

LIKE almost all the hawthorns, the red haw is a tree of the pasture lands, the roadside, the open woods and the stream banks. It is the largest of our haws, occasionally reaching a height of 30 feet, with ascending branches usually forming a low conical crown. The twigs are hairy during the first season, but are soon smooth, slender, nearly unarmed or occasionally armed with stout, curved thorns.

Flowers one-half natural size.]

The leaves are ovate or nearly orbicular, coarsely toothed nearly to the base, usually 3 to 5 pairs of broad, shallow lobes. Both surfaces are hairy.

The flowers are often nearly an inch across, in compact clusters. They have about 20 cream-colored, densely hairy stamens.

The fruit, or the haw, is large, nearly 3/4 inch across, bright crimson or scarlet in color. The edible sweet flesh is firm but mellow, surrounding 5 bony seeds. It is often used for making jelly.

The wood is strong, tough, heavy and hard, and is used for mallets, tool handles and such small articles.

The Washington thorn, Crataegus phaenopyrum Med., is a smaller tree, with bright red fruit, but its broad leaves are smooth and bright green. The flowers are small, in very large clusters, followed by small bright scarlet edible haws.

In the southern half of Illinois, growing on moist river bottoms, the green haw, Crataegus viridis L., becomes a tree 20 feet tall. The broad leaves are dark green and quite smooth. The fruit is small but produced in large clusters becoming bright red or orange-red as it ripens.

+WILD PLUM+ Prunus americana Marsh.

THE common wild plum, or yellow plum, is a small tree which at a height usually of 3 to 6 feet divides into many spreading branches, often drooping at the ends. Not uncommonly it grows in thickets where it attains only large shrub size. The value of the tree lies in its fruit from which jelly and preserves are made, and its handsome form, and foliage, pure white fragrant flowers, and showy fruit which make it desirable for ornamental planting.

Three-quarters natural size.]

The leaves are alternate, oval, pointed, sharply toothed, (often doubly toothed) along the margin, thick and firm, 3 to 4 inches long by 1 to 2 inches wide, narrowed or rounded at the base, and prominently veined on both surfaces.

The flowers appear in numerous small clusters before, or simultaneously with, the leaves, and are white with small bright red portions in the center. The fruit, or plum, which ripens in late summer, is red or orange colored, about an inch in diameter, contains a stone or pit that is flattened and about as long as the pulpy part, and varies rather widely in its palatability.

The wood is heavy, hard, close-grained, reddish-brown in color and has no especial commercial uses.

The Canada plum, Prunus nigra Ait., is similar to the common wild plum, but the teeth of the leaves are blunt, the leaves are thin and the fruit is orange in color, almost without bloom.

The wild goose plum, Prunus hortulana Bailey, has thin lance-shaped leaves; its flowers have short petals and it has a rather hard, small globular fruit.

+BLACK CHERRY+ Prunus serotina Ehrh.

A common tree in Illinois and attaining sizes up to about 70 feet in height and 1 to 3 feet in diameter, black cherry as a tree is found all over the State. The forest-grown trees have long clear trunks with little taper; open-grown trees have spreading crowns. The bark on branches and young trees is smooth and bright reddish-brown, marked by conspicuous, narrow white, horizontal lines, and has a bitter-almond taste. On the older trunks the bark becomes rough and broken into thick, irregular plates.

Twig, two-thirds natural size. Leaf, one-third natural size.]

The leaves are alternate, simple, oval to lance-like in shape, with edges broken by many fine incurved teeth, thick and shiny above, and paler beneath.

The fruit is dull purplish-black, about as large as a pea, and is borne in long hanging clusters. It ripens in late summer, and is edible, although it has a slightly bitter taste.

The wood is reddish-brown with yellowish sapwood, moderately heavy, hard, strong, fine-grained, and does not warp or split in seasoning. It is valuable for its lustre and color and is used for furniture, interior finish, tools, and implement handles. With the exception of black walnut, black cherry lumber has a greater unit value than any other hardwood of the eastern United States.

The wild cherry, Prunus pennsylvanica L., is a small tree, growing on light soils, in the northern part of the State. The bark is a dark reddish-brown; the leaves are lance-shaped bright green and shiny above, while the fruit is round and bright red in color.

The choke cherry, Prunus virginiana L., is common along fences and under larger trees in the forest in the northern half of the State. It seldom becomes a tree but it bears a fruit which is sweet but very astringent and is dark purple when ripe.

+HONEY LOCUST+ Gleditsia triacanthos L.

THE honey locust occurs scattered throughout the State. It grows under a wide variety of soil and moisture conditions. It sometimes occurs in the forest, but more commonly in corners and waste places beside roads and fields. It reaches a diameter of 30 inches and a height of 75 feet. The bark on old trees is dark gray and is divided into thin tight scales. The strong thorns--straight, brown, branched, sharp and shiny which grow on the 1-year-old wood and remain for many years--are sufficient to identify the honey locust.

Twig, three-quarters natural size. Leaf, one-quarter natural size.]