Shape with broadly hemispherical, irregular top, 18-30 ft. tall. Trunk usually forking in a shrubby way. Bark fissured, dark red-brown, scaly. Branches contorted, twiggy, and often thorny. Leaves lobed or un-lobed, finally more or less smooth on both sides, turning yellow or purplish in autumn, or nearly evergreen in the South. Flowers white or pink, fragrant, in late spring. Fruit greenish or yellowish, waxy, fragrant, hard and sour. Range: N. Y. to Fla., Miss., Mo. and Ill. When in full flower this is one of the loveliest of all trees. The fruits are unexcelled for making jellies and conserves. IOWA CRAB (_Malus ioensis_) has leaves downy on the undersides, Minn. to Tex., Mo., and Ind. OREGON CRAB (_Malus fusca_) has leaves pale, downy, and finally rusty beneath; fruits becoming purple-black, Alaska to Cal., Coast Ranges.
Shape narrowly oblong, to 100 ft. tall. Trunk stout and straight. Bark at first smooth, glossy, mahogany red, becoming finally covered with innumerable small scales. Twigs bright red. Leaves thickish, shining above, clear yellow in autumn, with a dark red gland near the stalk. Flowers from March-June. Fruit dark red becoming black with purple flesh. Range: N.S. to N.D., Tex. and Fla. and, in a slightly different variety, N. Mex. and Ariz., in mt. cañons. This stately, beautiful species is one of the most valued timber trees of the country. The strong wood, on exposure to air, turns dark as mahogany and is often employed as a substitute for it, being popular in cabinet work and veneering. The bitter bark yields a good cough syrup.
Shape narrowly ovoid at the top, or rarely broadly rounded; up to 40 ft. tall. Bark ruddy, shiny brown, smooth or nearly so, with numerous horizontal lines or dots, becoming rather rough and “curly” on old trees. Twigs slim, glossy, sparingly dotted. Leaves rather sparse, drooping like those of the peach, the margin undulating paler beneath. Flowers appearing with the leaves (April-May) or even before them. Fruit about the size of a pea, on a long stalk, ruby red and translucent, very sour. Range: Lab. to B.C. s. to Colo., Ia. and Pa., and on the mts. to Tenn. and N. C. A mere shrub in the north, this is quite a fine little tree in the s. Appalachians. WILD PLUM (_Prunus americana_) has thorn-like twigs, flowers appearing before the leaves in early spring, white and frail and very fragrant; fruit in summer red, about ⅞ in. thick, sweet but tough-skinned. Conn. to Fla. and Colo.