Distribution. Open pastures, Milton Township and Gleneilyn, Du Page County, and Mokena, Will County, northeastern Illinois.
143. [Cratægus vegeta] Sarg.
Leaves elliptic, acuminate, gradually narrowed and concave-cuneate at the entire base, finely often doubly serrate above, with straight glandular teeth, and slightly divided above the middle into numerous short acute lobes, nearly fully grown when the flowers open at the end of May and then membranaceous, dark yellow-green and roughened above by short rigid pale hairs and densely pubescent below, and at maturity thin and firm in texture, dark dull green and scabrate on the upper surface, pale and pubescent on the lower surface on the slender midrib, and 5 or 6 pairs of thin primary veins arching obliquely to the point of the lobes, 3′—4′ long, and 1¾′—2½′ wide; petioles slender, broadly wing-margined at apex, villose on the upper side early in the season, becoming glabrous and rose color in the autumn, ½′—¾′ long. Flowers ⅝′—¾′ in diameter, on long slender villose pedicels, in usually 10—12-flowered hairy corymbs, with linear to linear-obovate acute glandular bracts and bractlets becoming reddish and mostly persistent until after the flowers open; calyx-tube narrowly obconic, villose, the lobes slender, acuminate, glandular-serrate, villose; stamens 20; anthers small, light pink or red; styles 2 or 3, usually 3. Fruit ripening late in September, on slender elongated rigid slightly villose pedicels, in few-fruited erect clusters, subglobose, scarlet, lustrous, marked by small pale dots, about ⅜′ in diameter; calyx prominent, with a short tube and spreading reflexed serrate lobes; flesh thin, yellow, dry and mealy; nutlets 2 or 3, ¼′ long and nearly as broad, full and rounded at the ends, the ventral cavities broad and deep.
A tree, 20°—25° high, with a tall straight trunk sometimes 8′ in diameter, stout wide-spreading branches forming a symmetrical round-topped head, and very slender nearly straight branchlets, light orange-green when they first appear, becoming bright red-brown and lustrous at the end of their first season and darker the following year, and unarmed, or sparingly armed with slender nearly straight purple shining spines about 4′ long.
Distribution. Oak-woods in moist rich soil near the banks of the Calumet River, Calumet, Cook County, Illinois.
144. [Cratægus Deweyana] Sarg.
Leaves ovate, acuminate or abruptly long-pointed at apex, abruptly narrowed and concave-cuneate at the entire often unsymmetric base, coarsely doubly serrate above with straight or incurved gland-tipped teeth, and slightly divided above the middle into several pairs of small acuminate spreading lobes, about one third grown when the flowers open during the last week of May and then membranaceous, dark yellow-green, and covered above with short lustrous white hairs, and light yellow-green and glabrous below, and at maturity thin, yellow-green and scabrate on the upper surface, pale on the lower surface, 3′—4′ long, and 2′—2¾′ wide, with a stout midrib deeply impressed on the upper side, and 6 or 7 pairs of thin primary veins arching to the point of the lobes; petioles stout, wing-margined at apex, deeply grooved, sparingly villose on the upper side, soon glabrous, glandular with occasional minute dark glands, usually dull orange color in the autumn, ¾′—1′ in length; leaves at the end of vigorous shoots more deeply lobed and more coarsely serrate, subcoriaceous, often 4′ long and 3½′ wide, and gradually narrowed into stout broad-winged coarsely glandular petioles, their stipules foliaceous, stipitate, lunate, acutely lobed, glandular-serrate with minute dark red glands, sometimes ½′ long, persistent through the season. Flowers about ½′ in diameter, on slender hairy pedicels, in wide lax slightly villose corymbs; calyx-tube narrowly obconic, villose at base, glabrous above, the lobes slender, elongated, acuminate, finely glandular-serrate usually only above the middle, dark green and glabrous on the outer surface, villose on the inner surface; stamens 7—10, usually 10; anthers small, dark rose color; styles 2 or 3, usually 2. Fruit ripening from the first to the middle of October and falling a few weeks later, on long slender puberulous pedicels, in wide many-fruited drooping clusters, subglobose to short-oblong, rounded at the ends, scarlet, lustrous, marked by occasional large pale dots, ½′ in diameter; calyx prominent, with elongated glandular-serrate lobes dark red on the upper side near the base, usually erect and incurved, mostly persistent on the ripe fruit; flesh when fully ripe thick, yellow and sweet; nutlets usually 2, occasionally 3, about 3/16′ long and ⅛′ wide, rounded at the ends, rounded and conspicuously ridged on the back, the ventral cavities broad and shallow.
A tree, 20°—25° high, with a tall trunk sometimes 10′ in diameter, covered with light gray bark becoming rough and scaly near the base, slender branches, the lower horizontal and wide-spreading, the upper ascending and forming a wide open irregular head, and stout glabrous branchlets dark orange-brown when they first appear, deep red-brown and lustrous on the upper, gray-brown and lustrous on the lower side during their first winter, becoming gray slightly tinged with red the following year, and armed with numerous stout curved chestnut-brown or purple spines 1½′—2′ long and occasionally persistent on old stems.