The _bark_ on the branches is smooth, thin and red-brown in color, while
on the trunk the thicker bark often breaks into scales. The twigs are at
first hoary-hairy, but soon become smooth and reddish.
The _leaves_ are alternate, simple, 3 to 4 inches long and almost as
broad. They are sometimes slightly lobed and sharply and deeply toothed.
They are dark green and shiny above, but pale and hairy beneath, borne
on stout, hairy petioles.
The _flowers_, which are from one to two inches broad, are borne in
clusters of 3 to 8, on wooly pedicels about an inch long. The white or
rosy petals form a cup which surrounds the numerous stamens and the five
styles. The calyx is pubescent.
The _fruit_ ripens in October, forming a globose, pale green, very
fragrant apple with a waxy surface. It is about an inch in diameter,
flattened at each end.
Like the other crabs, its handsome flowers have a delicious fragrance
which makes the tree popular for planting for ornamental purposes. The
fruit is sometimes gathered for jelly. The _wood_ is heavy,
close-grained and reddish-brown.
The wild sweet crab, _Malus coronaria_ Mill., differs from the above
in having more nearly smooth leaves and calyx. It is rarely found in
Illinois but is common in Ohio. A cultivated variety, _Malus ioensis
plena_ Rheder, is sold under the name of Bechtel's crab, and has
large, double, rosy-pink blossoms.
+SERVICE BERRY+ _Amelanchier arborea_ (Michx. f.) Fern.
(_Amelanchier canadensis_ Medic.)
THE downy service berry, or shadblow, as it is more commonly called in
the East, has little economic importance except for its frequency
throughout the State and the touch of beauty its flowers give to our
forests early in the spring before the foliage has come out. It is a
small tree 20 to 50 feet high and seldom over 8 inches in diameter, with
a rather narrow, rounded top but is often little more than shrub. The
name shadblow was given by the early settlers who noticed that it
blossomed when the shad were running up the streams.
[Illustration: SERVICE BERRY One-half natural size.]
The _bark_ is smooth and light gray, and shallowly fissured into scaly
ridges. The _winter buds_ are long and slender.
The _leaves_ are alternate, slender-stalked, ovate, pointed, finely
toothed, 2 to 4 inches long, densely white-hairy when young, then
becoming a light green, and covered with scattered silky hairs.
The white _flowers_ appear in erect or drooping clusters in early
spring, before the leaves, making the tree quite conspicuous in the
leafless or budding forest. The petals are slender and rather more than
a half inch long.
The _fruit_ is sweet, edible, rounded, reddish-purple when ripe, 1/3 to
1/2 an inch in diameter, ripening early in June. Birds and denizens of
the forest are very fond of the berries.
The _wood_ is heavy, exceedingly hard, strong, close-grained and dark
brown. It is occasionally used for handles. This is a desirable
ornamental tree and should be planted for this purpose and to encourage
the birds.
The smooth service berry, _Amelanchier leavis_ Wieg., differs from the
above species in having smooth leaves, dark green and slightly
glaucous when mature, and they are half grown at flowering time. The
fruit is sweet, purple or nearly black, glaucous and edible.
+COCK-SPUR THORN+ _Crataegus crus-galli_ L.
THE hawthorns, or thorn-apples, are small trees or shrubs of the apple
family which are widely distributed throughout the northeastern United
States, with fewer species in the South and West. In North America, no
less than 150 species have been distinguished, but their proper
identification is a task for the expert. There are about a dozen haws
that reach tree size in Illinois, attaining a height of 20 to 30 feet
and a stem diameter of 8 to 12 inches. Of these, perhaps the best known
is the cock-spur thorn with its many strong straight spines and shining
leaves. Its _bark_ is pale gray and scaly. Its _winter buds_ are small,
globose and lustrous brown.
[Illustration: COCK-SPUR THORN Flowers and fruit one-half natural size.]
The _leaves_ are conspicuous because of their dark green glossy surface.
They are broadest toward the apex tapering to the short petiole. They
vary in size in different localities, the smaller-leaved varieties seem
to be more frequently met with in the southern part of the State than in
the north. These leaves are alternate, wedge-shaped, notched on the
edges, and from 2 to 3 inches long.
The _flowers_ are rather small, arranged in flat-topped clusters, white
in color, with about a dozen pink stamens.
The _fruit_ is 1/3 inch thick, greenish-red; the flesh is hard and dry.
This haw is one of the best for planting for ornamental purposes; with
its spreading branches, it forms a broad, rounded crown. It is hardy and
succeeds in a great variety of soils.
The dotted hawthorn, _Crataegus punctata_ Jacq., also has wedge-shaped
leaves but they are leathery, dull gray-green in color with
conspicuous veins. The tree reaches a height of 25 feet with
distinctly horizontal branches forming a broad flat crown. It is often
almost without thorns. The fruit is oblong, dull red with pale dots,
becoming mellow.
The pear-thorn, _Crataegus calpodendron_ Med., is a smaller tree, with
broader leaves, very few thorns and pear-shaped fruit. The haw is
scarlet or orange-red, the flesh is thin and sweet.
+RED HAW+ _Crataegus mollis_ Scheele
LIKE almost all the hawthorns, the red haw is a tree of the pasture
lands, the roadside, the open woods and the stream banks. It is the
largest of our haws, occasionally reaching a height of 30 feet, with
ascending branches usually forming a low conical crown. The twigs are
hairy during the first season, but are soon smooth, slender, nearly
unarmed or occasionally armed with stout, curved thorns.
[Illustration: RED HAW