Pru.nus. ROSACEiE. 407 



T^ P. Americana is the only native species of this country which has a flat 

 stone, grooved on both margins : the others are, in their fruit, somewhat in- 

 tcrmediato between tliis genus and Cerasus ; the stono being sliglitly com- 

 pressed, and the glaucous bloom wanting, except in P. marilima ; yet they aro 

 evidently Plums and not Cherries, and cannot witii propriety bo separated 

 from this gciius. 



-^ 1. P. Americana (Mart-hall) : brandies somewhat thorny ; loaves ovatc-ob- 

 ' long, ovate, or somewhat obovatc, eonspicuously acuminate, sliar{)ly and 

 often doubly serrate, strongly veined beneath, at length nearly glabrous; 

 petioles often biglandular; umbels !2-5-flo\vered ; drupe roundish-oval, (red 

 and yellow when ripe) nearly destitute of bloom. — Marsh, arhust. p. Ill ; 

 Darling t. ! f. Ccst. p. 287,'6fin ann. lye. NcioYork, 3. p. 87, /. 1. P. 

 nigra, Ait..' Kew. {ed. 1.) 2. p. 165 ,- Bot. mag. t. 1117 ; Pnrsh! fl. I. p. 

 331 ,• WillcL ! spec. 2. p. 993. P. hycmalis, Ell. si: 1. p. 542. Cerasus 

 nigra, Loisel. ; Scriiige in DC. ! prodr. 2. p. 538 ; Hook. 8f Arn. in 

 compan. to hot. mag. 1. p. 24 ; Hook. ! Jl. Bor.-Ani. 1. p. 167. P. triflora, 

 Raf. ann. nat. 1 



0. mollis: leaves and pedicels pubescent, especially when young (drupe 

 blackish when ripe). — P. mollis, Torr. ! Jl. 1. p. 470. P. hiemalis, ^Mickx. ! 

 jl. 1. p. 284. Cerasus hycmalis, Seringe ! I. c. C. Americana, Hook. Sf 

 Arn. I. c. 



Banks of streams and in hedges, Canada! (from the Saskatchawan !) and 

 New England States! to Georgia and Louisiana ! and Texas ! Often culti- 

 vated. April-3Iay. — Stem 8-15 feet high; the old branches rough and 

 somewhat thorn}'. Leaves rather coarsely serrate. Drujie i-1 inch in 

 diametei, mostly reddish-orange when ripe, with a juicy yellow pulj) and a 

 thick tough skin. — Red Plum. Yellow Plum. — Few N. American plants 

 are difllised through so many degrees of latitude as the present species. It 

 is a true Plum and not a Cerasus. We have no Winter-plum ; and this 

 species, as Elliott and Dr. Darlington remark, ripens its fruit in July and 

 August. 



-/^ 2. P. Chicasa (Michx.) : branches thorny ; leaves oblong-lanceolate or 

 oblanceolate, acute, serrulate with inflexed glandular-pointed d oth, nearly 

 glabrous; petioles mostly glandular; umbels 2-3-flowercd, the short pedi- 

 cels and calyx glabrous; drupe globose (red or yellowish red), nearly desti- 

 tute of Uofmi.— Michx..' fl. 1. p. 284 ,- Ell. sk. 1. p. 542 ; Darlingt. I. c. 

 P. angustifblia. Marsh. I. c. Cerasus Chicasa, DC. ! I. c. ; Hook. ! in 

 compan. to hot. mag. 1. jj. 24. 



(i. 1 normcdis : pedicels and calyx more or less pubescent ; leaves oval, 

 tomentose-pubescent beneath, the sen^tures sometimes spreading. 



South Western States ! and Arkansas ! perhaps only native of the country- 

 west of the Mississippi, from which, according to the traditions of the In- 

 dians, it was by them introduced into the Atlantic (Southern) States, where 

 it is extensively naturalized : sometimes cultivated in the Northern States. 

 April. 0. Texas &C Arkansas, Dr. Lenvemvortli ! Texas, Drummond ! — The 

 pubescent variety is perhaps the original Avild stock of tlie well-known do- 

 mesticated or naturalized Chickasaw Plum. Dr. Leavenworth remarks 

 that it is only 3 or 4 feet high on the Prairies of Arkansas, and that the 

 plums are small and rather astringent. The serratures of the leaves in Mr. 

 Drummond's specimens (which want the flowers) are more sharp and 

 salient, but Dr. Leavenworth's connect them with the cultivated form. Dr. 

 Hale speaks of this species as a naturalized plant even in Western Louisiana. 

 The fruit in cultivation is half an inch or more in diameter, with a thin 

 skin, and a tender pulp, usually very pleasant; but, like all our species, 



