Distribution. Western New York (Ontario, Cattaraugus and Erie Counties); Virginia (on Peak Mountain, Pulaski County); West Virginia (near Elkins, Randolph County, and White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County), and westward to southern Ohio (Oberlin, Lorain County); North Carolina (near Highlands, Macon County); and northeastern Georgia (Rabun County).
4. [Malus platycarpa] Rehd. Crab Apple.
Leaves ovate to elliptic, abruptly contracted at the rounded apex into a short point, rounded at base, and sharply usually doubly serrate, when they unfold covered with long white hairs caducous except from the midrib and at maturity glabrous; dark yellow-green, lustrous, and slightly rugulose on the upper surface, lighter on the lower surface, 2½′—3¼′ long and 1½′—2½′ wide, with 5—7 pairs of prominent primary veins; petioles slender, villose, often becoming nearly glabrous, 1′—1½′ in length; on vigorous shoots often broad-ovate and lobed with short triangular lobes sometimes 4′ long and nearly as wide. Flowers about 1½′ in diameter, on glabrous pedicels 1½′—2½′ long, in 3—6-flowered clusters; calyx-tube glabrous or rarely pubescent (var. Hoopesii Rehd.), the lobes lanceolate, acuminate, longer than the tube, glabrous on the outer surface, densely tomentose on the inner surface; petals orbicular-obovate, usually irregularly incisely dentate and abruptly contracted at base into a short claw, slightly villose on the inner surface near the base, ½′ to nearly 1′ wide; stamens slightly shorter than the petals; styles 5, somewhat shorter than the stamens, villose below the middle and united below for one third their length. Fruit on slender pedicels, 1¼′—1½′ in length, depressed globose with a deep cavity at base and apex, 1½′—1¾′ high and 2′—2½′ wide; seeds oblong-obovoid, about ⅓′ long.
A tree, 18°—20° high, with a trunk 4′ or 5′ in diameter, spreading unarmed branches, and branchlets clothed when they first appear with thin villose tomentum, becoming by the end of their first year glabrous, brown or purple-brown and lustrous, dull brown in their second season, and ultimately grayish brown. Winter-buds ovoid, acute, glabrous except on the villose margins of the purplish brown scales, about ¼′ long.
Distribution. Near Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina; Mercer Springs, Mercer County, West Virginia; near Olympia, Bath County, Kentucky; Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio (R. E. Horsey).
5. [Malus lancifolia] Rehd. Crab Apple.
Leaves ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, acute or short-acuminate at apex, rounded or broad-cuneate at base, finely or coarsely doubly serrate with short or occasionally with larger teeth pointing forward, covered with thin floccose tomentum when they unfold, soon glabrous, bright yellow-green, 1½′—3′ long, ½′—1′ wide, with 8—10 pairs of veins; petioles slender, slightly villose at first, soon glabrous, ½′—1′ in length; leaves on vigorous shoots ovate or oblong-ovate, slightly lobed, more densely pubescent below, 2½′—3¾′ long, 2′—2½′ wide, with a thin midrib and 4—7 pairs of veins slightly villose through the season, and stouter petioles. Flowers 1¼′—1½′ in diameter, in 3—6-flowered clusters, on slender glabrous pedicels about 1¼′ in length; calyx glabrous, the lobes longer than the tube, oblong-lanceolate, glabrous on the outer surface, coated with villose tomentum on the inner surface; petals contracted into a long narrow claw, glabrous, white or rose color, ½′ wide; stamens shorter than the petals; styles 5, densely villose below the middle. Fruit on slender drooping pedicels about 1′ long, subglobose, 1′—1¼′ wide.
A tree, 20°—25° high, with a trunk 12′—15′ in diameter, spreading spinescent branches forming an open pyramidal head, and slender branchlets slightly pubescent or nearly glabrous when they first appear, becoming reddish brown at the end of their first season and ultimately gray-brown. Bark of the trunk brownish gray, divided by shallow longitudinal fissures and separating into thin plates.