Pomaceæ

Pomaceæ, or POMÆ, according to some botanists, a natural order of plants, but more generally regarded as a sub-order of Rosaceæ (q.v.). The plants of this order are all trees or shrubs, abundant in Europe, and chiefly belong to the temperate and colder regions of the northern hemisphere; they are rare in very warm climates, and are not found at all in the southern hemisphere. They have the botanical characters described in the article Rosaceæ (q.v.), and in addition are distinguished by having the tube of the calyx more or less globose, the ovary fleshy and juicy, lined with a thin disc, its carpels adhering more or less to the sides of the calyx and to each other; the fruit a Pome (q.v.), 1- to 5-celled, in a few instances spuriously 10-celled; the ovules in pairs, collateral. Many of the species are prized for the beauty and fragrance of their flowers, some produce valuable timber; but the order is chiefly remarkable as producing a number of the very finest fruits of temperate climates. See APPLE, PEAR, QUINCE, MEDLAR, LOQUAT, HAWTHORN, CRATEGUS, AMELANCHIER, ROWAN, SERVICE.—There are about 200 known species.