26. [Cratægus punctata] Jacq.
Leaves obovate, pointed or rounded at apex, gradually narrowed to the cuneate entire base, sharply and often doubly serrate above the middle with minute teeth, and sometimes more or less incisely lobed, thickly covered below with pale hairs and pilose above when hey unfold, about half grown when the flowers open from the middle of May until early in June and then pilose on the midrib and veins below and nearly glabrous above, and at maturity thick and firm, pale gray-green and glabrous on the upper surface, more or less villose on the lower surface, 2′—3′ long, and ¾′—1½′ wide, with a broad prominent midrib, and primary veins deeply impressed on the upper surface; turning bright orange or orange and scarlet in the autumn; petioles stout, at first villose or tomentose, becoming pubescent or glabrous, ¼′—½′ in length; leaves at the end of vigorous shoots usually incisely lobed, and often 3′—4′ long and 1½′—2′ wide. Flowers ½′—¾′ in diameter, on slender villose pedicels, in tomentose or villose many-flowered compact corymbs; calyx-tube narrowly obconic, villose or tomentose, the lobes narrow, acute, nearly entire or minutely glandular-serrate, villose on the inner surface; stamens 20; anthers rose color or yellow; styles 5, surrounded at base by conspicuous tufts of white hairs. Fruit ripening and falling in October, on elongated nearly glabrous pedicels, in drooping clusters, short-oblong to subglobose, truncate at the ends dull red or bright yellow (var. aurea Ait.) and usually agreeing with the anthers in color, marked by numerous small white dots, ½′—1′ long; nutlets 5, about ¼′ long.
A tree, 20°—30° high, with a trunk occasionally a foot in diameter, stout branches spreading nearly at right angles and forming a round or flat-topped head, or sometimes ascending and forming a narrow open irregular head, and branchlets coated at first with pale deciduous pubescence, becoming light orange-brown or ashy gray, and armed with slender straight light orange-brown or gray spines 2′—3′ long.
Distribution. Common and generally distributed; rich hillsides; valley of the Chateaugay River, Quebec, to the valley of the Detroit River, Ontario, southward through western New England to Delaware, and along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia, ascending in North Carolina and Tennessee to altitudes of nearly 6000°, and westward through New York, Ohio and Indiana to southern Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, southern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, and in central Iowa. A form (var. canescens Britt.), densely hoary-tomentose on the under surface of the leaves, and on the petioles and corymbs, occurs in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and near Albany, Albany County, New York; and a form (var. microphylla Sarg.) with smaller leaves and compact few-flowered corymbs has been found at Linesville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.
27. [Cratægus pausiaca] Ashe.
Leaves oblong-obovate to oval, rounded or acute at apex, gradually narrowed from near the middle to the concave-cuneate entire base, and finely doubly serrate above with straight glandular teeth, more than half grown when the flowers open from the 20th to the end of May and then membranaceous, dark yellow-green, and slightly villose above and along the under side of the midrib and veins, and at maturity glabrous, dark yellow-green above, paler below, 2′—2½′ long, and 1¼′—1½′ wide, with a slender yellow midrib, and 5 or 6 pairs of primary veins extending very obliquely to the end of the leaf; petioles slender, wing-margined above the middle, villose only early in the season, ⅝′—1′ in length; leaves at the end of vigorous shoots elliptic to rhombic, long-pointed, slightly or deeply divided into broad lateral lobes, coarsely serrate, often 3½′—4′ long and 2′—2½′ wide. Flowers ½′ in diameter, on long slender hairy pedicels, in broad many-flowered thin-branched villose corymbs; calyx-tube narrowly obconic, villose below with closely appressed white hairs, glabrous above, the lobes abruptly narrowed from the base, slender, acuminate, tipped with minute dark glands, entire or occasionally obscurely toothed above the middle, glabrous on the outer surface, villose on the inner surface; stamens 10—15, rarely 20; anthers dark rose color; styles 2 or 3, surrounded at base by a broad ring of pale tomentum. Fruit ripening about the middle of October, on elongated slender slightly hairy pedicels, in drooping many-fruited clusters, short-oblong to obovoid, broad and rounded at the ends, dull brick-red, marked by large pale dots, 5/16′—9/16′ long, and about ⅜′ thick; calyx small, with spreading appressed lobes mostly deciduous from the ripe fruit; flesh thin, hard, slightly juicy, green or greenish yellow; nutlets 3 or 4, thin, acute or obtuse at the ends, ridged on the back with a high broad deeply grooved ridge, about ¼′ long.
A tree, 20°—25° high, with a tall straight trunk often a foot in diameter, covered with dark brown scaly bark, stout wide-spreading branches forming a broad symmetrical round or flat-topped head, slender straight branchlets light orange-green and sparingly villose at first, becoming light orange-brown during their first season, light or dark gray-brown the following year, and armed with numerous stout slender straight orange-brown shining spines 1½′—2′ in length, long persistent on the branches and trunk, finally ashy gray, and becoming sometimes a foot long, with long slender lateral spines.
Distribution. Dry limestone hills and low moist bottom-lands, Bucks, Berks and Delaware counties, eastern Pennsylvania; at Chapin, Ontario County, New York.