574 AMYGDALACEAE 
lanceolate or oval, 3-8 cm. long, obtuse or slightly acuminate but blunt, glabrous, serrate 
with appressed teeth, bright green above, pale green beneath, slender-petioled : racemes 
drooping, 5-7 cm. long, glabrous: pedicels 4-8 mm. long, thickened upward: sepals del- 
toid, slightly broader than long : corolla 10-12 mm. broad : petals orbicular-ovate : drupes 
globular, 8-10 mm. in diameter, purple, sweet. [Prunus eximia Small. ] 
In river valleys, Texas. Spring. 
3. Padus serótina (Ehrh.) Agardh. A forest tree, reaching a height of 35 m., with 
a maximum trunk diameter of nearly 2 m., the bark aromatic and bitter. Leaf-blades firm, 
oblong or elliptic, varying to obovate, or lanceolate, 5-15 cm long, acuminate or acute at 
both ends, or rounded at the base, finely serrate with callous teeth, glabrous or nearly so ; 
petioles 1-1.5 cm. long: racemes often dense: pedicels less than 1 cm. long: sepals ovate, 
longer than broad : corolla 8-10 mm. broad : drupes globose, 8-10 mm. in diameter, dark 
purple or nearly black, sweet but slightly astringent. 
In woods or clearings, Ontario to North Dakota, Florida and Texas. Spring and early sum- 
mer.—A variety with ample leathery coarsely serrate leaf-blades pale or whitish beneath, stout, few- 
flowered, diverging racemes and pubescent sepals and filaments, is P. serotina neomontàna (Sudw.) Small, 
Prunus serotina neomontana Sudw.]; it is confined to high summits in the southern Alleghenies. WILD 
HERRY. BLACK CHERRY. RUM CHERRY. 
4. Padus Cuthbértii Small. A tree6 m. tall and sometimes 1.5 dm. in diameter near 
the base, with tomentose twigs. Leaf-blades leathery, normally obovate, varying to oval or 
fiddle-shaped, 4-9 cm. long, blunt or notched at the apex, shallowy serrate, not markedly 
biglandular at the often cuneate base, dull green above, pale or glaucesent beneath, the 
midrib and petioles copiously tomentose and the lateral veins slightly so: racemes 5-8 cm. 
long, terminating short leafy branches, the rachis and pedicels pubescent like the e 
pedicels clavate, 3-5 mm. long during anthesis, becoming 8-11 mm. long : sepals broader 
than long, obtuse, shorter than the hypanthium : petals suborbicular, about 2 mm. in di- 
ameter, crisped : drupes subglobose, 8-9 mm. in diameter, red. [Prunus Cuthbertii Small. ] 
In rich or sandy woods, Georgia. Spring. 
5. Padus Alabaménsis (C. Mohr) Small. A tree rarely over 10 m. tall, with a 
maximum trunk diameter of about 1-5 dm., the bark rough. Leaf-blades leathery or 
thick, ovate, oblong to elliptic, 6-12 cm. long, short-acuminate but sometimes obtuse at the 
apex, serrate with blunt appressed gland-tipped teeth, paler beneath than above and finely 
pubescent with simple or forked hairs, rounded or slightly narrowed at the base : racemes 
10-15 cm. long, spreading, peduncled, the rachis and peduncles, like the calyx, pubescent. 
On mountain slopes, Alabama and Georgia. Spring. 
6. Padus australis Beadle. A tree 10-20 m. tall, the trunk sometimes 3-4 dm. in 
diameter near the base. Leaf-blades obovate, oval or elliptic, 4-10 cm. long, 2-6 cm. 
wide, abruptly and rather bluntly pointed at the apex, or occasionally obtuse, either 
rounded or obtusely narrowed at the base, finely serrate, dark green and glabrous above, 
densely and permanently clothed on the lower surface with tawny or rufous tomentum, not 
not at all glaucous ; petioles 1 cm. iong or less, tomentose : raceme-rachis and pedicels, 
like the young shoots, pubescent : drupes globose, 5-8 mm. in diameter, purple. 
In clay soil, Evergreen, Alabama. Spring. 
5. LAUROCERASUS Reichenb. 
Shrubs or trees manifestly pervaded with prussic acid. Leaves alternate, persistent : 
blades leathery, simple, entire or remotely toothed. Flowers perfect, in racemes from the 
axils of the persistent leaves. Hypanthium white. Sepals 5, various, deciduous. Petals 5, 
white, deciduous. Stamens 15-30: filaments slender, distinct. Ovary sessile, 1-celled : 
style simple. Ovules 2, pendulous.. Drupe subglobose or slightly elongated, with a dry 
exocarp, not glaucous, the stone turgid. Seed solitary. 
Drupe subglobose : petals larger than the sepals. 1. L. 
Drupe oblong or oval: petals smaller than the sepals. 2. L. 
l. Laurocerasus sphaerocárpa (Sw.) Roem. A small evergreen tree, sometimes 
12 m. tall, with glabrous foliage. Leaf-blades leathery, lustrous, elliptic, 5-10 cm. long, 
entire, acuminate at the apex, acute or rounded at the base ; petioles slender, about 1 cm. 
long: racemes shorter than the leaves, rather dense: pedicels slender, 4-8 mm. long, 
subtended by early deciduous bracts : sepals acute, laciniate, deciduous : petals much larger 
than the sepals, reflexed at maturity, yellowish near the base within: drupes subglobose, 
apiculate, 8-12 mm. in diameter, orange: stone subglobose. 
: In sandy soil, southern peninsular Florida, also in the West Indies and Brazil. Fall, fruit ripening 
in the spring or summer. 
haerocarpa. 
Taroliniana. 
