Part 19 (2/2)

=D.= Small cultivated tree; drupe globose, rather large, very sour 9.

=D.= Large cultivated tree; drupe large, somewhat pitted at the stem 8.

=D.= Rather small, native tree; drupe small, flesh thin 7.

=C.= Drupes cl.u.s.tered in racemes, 1/8 - 1/3 in. in diameter.

(=E.=)

=E.= Tall shrubs rather than trees; racemes short 11.

=E.= Trees; racemes quite elongated. (=F.=)

=F.= Stone of fruit somewhat roughened 12.

=F.= Stone smooth 10.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. Persica.]

1. =Prunus Persica=, L. (COMMON PEACH.) Leaves lanceolate, serrate.

Flowers rose-colored, nearly sessile, very early in bloom. Fruit clothed with velvety down, large; stone rough-wrinkled. A small tree, 15 to 30 ft. high, cultivated in numberless varieties for its fruit. Var. _laevis_ (Nectarine) has smooth-skinned fruit.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. Americana.]

2. =Prunus Americana=, Marsh. (WILD YELLOW OR RED PLUM.) Leaves ovate or somewhat obovate, conspicuously pointed, coa.r.s.ely or doubly serrate, very veiny, smooth when mature. Fruit with little or no bloom, to 1 in. in diameter, yellow, orange, or red; skin tough and bitter. Stone with two sharp edges. A small, th.o.r.n.y tree, 8 to 20 ft. high, common in woodlands and on river-banks. Many improved varieties, some thornless, are in cultivation. Wood reddish color.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. Alleghaniensis.]

3. =Prunus Alleghaniensis=, Porter. (ALLEGHANY PLUM.) Leaves lanceolate to oblong-ovate, often long-ac.u.minate, finely and sharply serrate, softly p.u.b.escent when young, smooth when old; fruit globose-ovoid, under in., very dark purple, with a bloom; stone turgid, a shallow groove on one side and a broad, flat ridge on the other. A low, straggling bush, occasionally a tree, 3 to 15 ft. high. Mountains of Pennsylvania.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. Chicasa.]

4. =Prunus Chicasa=, Michx. (CHICASAW PLUM.) Leaves long, narrow, almost lanceolate, acute, finely serrate, thin. Flowers on short stalks. Fruit globular, to 2/3 in. in diameter, thin-skinned, without bloom, yellowish-red, pleasant to taste. Stone globular, without sharp edges. A th.o.r.n.y shrub or small tree, 6 to 15 ft. high; wild in New Jersey, west and south, and often cultivated.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. spinsa.]

5. =Prunus spinsa=, L. (SLOE. BLACKTHORN. BULLACE PLUM.) Leaves obovate-oblong to lance-oblong, sharply serrate, soon smooth; leafstalk smooth; fruit small, globular, black, with a bloom; the stone rounded, acute at one edge; flesh greenish, astringent. A low tree with th.o.r.n.y branches; it is becoming naturalized along roadsides and waste places; from Europe. Var. _inst.i.titia_ (Bullace Plum) is less th.o.r.n.y, and has the leafstalk and lower side of the leaves p.u.b.escent.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. domestica.]

6. =Prunus domestica=, L. (COMMON GARDEN PLUM.) Leaves 1 to 3 in. long, oval or ovate-lanceolate, acute to obtuse. Flowers white, nearly solitary. Drupe globular, obovoid to ovoid, of many colors (black, white, etc.), covered with a rich glaucous bloom. A small tree, 10 to 20 ft. high, in cultivation everywhere for its fruit. Over a hundred varieties are named in the catalogues.

[Ill.u.s.tration: P. Pennsylvanica.]

7. =Prunus Pennsylvanica=, L. f. (WILD RED CHERRY.) Leaves oblong-lanceolate, pointed, finely and sharply serrate, s.h.i.+ning green, smooth on both sides. Flowers many in an umbel on long stems. Fruit round, light red, quite small, in. in diameter, sour. A small tree, 20 to 30 ft. high, in rocky woods; common north and extending southward along the Alleghanies to North Carolina.

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