The Families of Flowering Plants

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1902 Excerpt: ...than does the rose, and hundreds of distinct garden varieties, belonging to many distinct types, are known. The two important economic uses of the rose are in the manufacture of rose water and attar of roses. Next in the systematic arrangement of the family we find the subfamily Neuradoideae, containing two North African desert shrubs (Neurada and Grielum). Family Pomaceae. Apple Family. As above explained, this and the succeeding were formerly regarded as sections of the rose family proper. The apples and their allies may be easily distinguished by the fruit, which consists of the enlarged fleshy calyx-tube, enclosing from one to five thin-walled or papery carpels, each usually singleseeded. This structure may be seen in Fig. 113. A fruit of this type is known to botanists as a pome (from pomum, fruit). Generic differences in this family are more apparent than real, and indeed the apple (Malus), the pear (Pyrus), and the mountain ash (Sorbus), were until recently generally placed together in the single genus Pynis. But all three belong to very distinct natural types, and one who is absolutely ignorant of botany can distinguish any pear from any apple, and any quince from either. The family contains about 20 genera and 225 species of wide distribution; all are trees or shrubs. In this country we have very few indigenous species of Pyrus, Malus or Sorbus, but Amelanchier, the shad-bush or service-berry, is represented by about 12 species in the United States, while Crataegus, the hawthorn, now contains over 100, and the number is rapidly on the increase. Two handsome photographs of the shad-bush (A melanchier Canadensis) may be Seen in the Fig. 5. The cockspur thorn (Crataegus Crus-galli). accompanying plate (Fig. After Britton & Brown'111 m. D-s 1...