Part 42

=Pyrus coronaria=, L.

=Form=.—Height 15-25 feet, diameter 10-14 inches; trunk short and usually armed with many stubby, thorn-like branches; crown narrow when in a thicket but broad and flat-topped in the open.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, ovate, or elliptic, 3-4 inches long; sharp-pointed apex, rounded base, serrate, smooth, dark green above, paler beneath.

=Flowers=.—May, with the nearly full-grown leaves; perfect, rosy-white, 1½-2 inches across, arranged in umbel-like cymes; very fragrant.

=Fruit=.—Matures in autumn; a depressed globose pome, 1-1½ inches in diameter, yellowish green, fragrant, flesh firm and bitter.

=Bark=.—Roughened with flat, scaly ridges; brownish-gray or reddish.

=Wood=.—Heavy, hard, light reddish brown.

=Range=.—Southern Canada to Alabama, west to Louisiana, Missouri and Michigan.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Common in most sections. Rare in Boone, Logan, Mingo and other southwestern counties. Abundant in the hilly regions of the central and northern parts of the State.

=Habitat=.—Prefers a moist soil and is usually found in thickets in open woods and neglected fields.

=Notes=.—The Crab Apple is best known on account of its fragrant blossoms. The wood is sometimes used for tool handles, turned articles, and engravings.

MOUNTAIN ASH

=Pyrus americana= (Marsh.) D. C.

=Form=.—Height 20-30 feet, diameter 8-12 inches; trunk short, supporting a round-topped crown.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, compound, 6-9 inches long; leaflets 9-17, 2-3 inches long, nearly sessile, except the terminal one, lanceolate, taper-pointed, sharply serrate above the entire base; glabrous, dark green above, paler beneath.

=Flowers=.—Appear in May; perfect, in flat cymes 3-4 inches across, white.

=Fruit=.—Matures in autumn, persistent on the tree through the winter; a round berry-like pome, ¼ inch in diameter, bright red, acid, in large flat-topped clusters.

=Bark=.—Smooth or slightly roughened, light gray.

=Wood=.—Light, close-grained, soft, weak, light brown with lighter sapwood.

=Range=.—Newfoundland west to Manitoba and Iowa, south along the mountains to North Carolina.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Confined to high swamps and mountains. Observed in the following counties: Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph and Tucker.

=Habitat=.—Moist soil of swamps and rocky slopes.

=Notes=.—This tree has no commercial value, being rare and of small size. Its form, foliage, flowers and bright persistent fruits make it a desirable tree for ornamental planting.

SHAD BUSH

=Amelanchier canadensis=, (L.) Medic.

=Form=.—Height 10-40 feet, diameter 4-16 inches; trunk short; crown shallow and usually narrow, with numerous slender branches.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, 3-4 inches long, ovate to ovate-oblong, finely serrate, smooth when old, dark green above, paler beneath.

=Flowers=.—April; perfect, white, borne in drooping racemes.