7. [Cratægus algens] Beadl.
Leaves obovate to oblong or elliptic, rounded or acute at apex, gradually narrowed and concave-cuneate at the entire base, sharply serrate above, villose on the upper side of the midrib and nearly full grown when the flowers open at the end of May, and at maturity glabrous, subcoriaceous, dark green and lustrous above, pale below, 1½′—2′ long, and ¾′—1¼′ wide, with a thin midrib and slender primary veins; turning in the autumn to shades of orange, yellow, and brown; petioles slender, rarely glandular with minute glands, about ¼′ in length; leaves at the end of vigorous shoots oblong-obovate, rounded or abruptly short-pointed at apex, coarsely serrate, and often 3′ long and 1½′ wide. Flowers ½′ in diameter, on slender elongated pedicels, in broad many-flowered glabrous corymbs; calyx-tube narrowly obconic, glabrous, the lobes slender, acuminate, entire or remotely serrate; stamens 10; anthers yellow; styles 1-3. Fruit ripening in September and October, on slender pedicels, in few-fruited hanging clusters, subglobose to obovoid, ⅜′—½′ in diameter, dull red, or green flushed with red, ⅜′—½′ long; calyx somewhat enlarged, with reflexed persistent lobes; nutlets usually 1 or 2, prominently ridged on the back, ¼′—⅜′ long.
A tree, 15°—18° high, with a short trunk occasionally 7′—8′ in diameter, stout ascending wide-spreading branches forming a wide round-topped head, and stout glabrous bright chestnut-brown branchlets becoming gray in their second year, and armed with stout nearly straight spines 1′—2′ long.
Distribution. Borders of woods and fields; western North Carolina to northern Georgia and central Alabama (near Selma, Dallas County, common), and to eastern Tennessee; one of the commonest species in the neighborhood of Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina.
8. [Cratægus Palmeri] Sarg.
Leaves broadly oval to oblong, rounded, acute or short-pointed at apex, gradually narrowed and cuneate at the entire base, and coarsely serrate above with straight gland-tipped teeth, nearly fully grown when the flowers open during the first week in May, and then very thin, dark green and lustrous above, pale bluish green below, and at maturity coriaceous, dark green and lustrous on the upper surface, paler on the lower surface, 1½′—2′ long, and 1¼′—1¾′ wide, with a slender yellow midrib and 4 or 5 pairs of very thin primary veins; petioles stout, rose-colored in the autumn, about ⅜′ in length; leaves at the end of vigorous shoots oblong-ovate to elliptic, usually acute, coarsely serrate, occasionally laterally lobed, glandular at base, 2½′—3′ long, and 1½′—2′ wide. Flowers about ½′ in diameter, on slender pedicels, in many-flowered corymbs; calyx-tube narrowly obconic, the lobes slender, acuminate, tipped with small dark glands, entire or slightly serrate; stamens 10; anthers pale yellow; styles 3, surrounded at base by a thin ring of pale tomentum. Fruit ripening in October, on slender elongated pedicels, in few-fruited drooping clusters, subglobose, dull green tinged with red or cherry-red, marked by large pale dots, about ⅓′ in diameter; calyx sessile, with erect and incurved lobes mostly persistent on the ripe fruit; nutlets 3, thin, acute at the ends, slightly and irregularly ridged on the back with a low grooved ridge, ¼′—5/16′ long.
A tree, sometimes 25° high, with a trunk often a foot in diameter, covered with smooth pale bark, stout wide-spreading branches forming a broad round-topped symmetrical head, and slender nearly straight glabrous, bright chestnut-brown branchlets armed with thin straight dark red-brown shining spines ¾′—3′ long.
Distribution. Southwestern Missouri, usually in low rich soil; common near Carthage and Webb City, Jasper County, and near Noel, McDonald County.