198 Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 



Cherries and Plums (Piiinus spp.). The monocarpellary, two- 

 ovuled ovary becomes a fleshy one-seeded drupe. The hard shell of the 

 stone protects the seed from crushing when the fruit is eaten by birds 

 or quadrupeds, and preserves many of the embryos vv^hile the seeds are 

 passing through the ailmentary canal. The smaller fruits (cherries) 

 are greedily eaten by many birds, while the larger (plums) are eaten 

 by quadrupeds, and occasionally carried away by birds. 



Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana L. ) is found in the Missouri 

 forests, from which it has been carried northward along the Missouri 

 river as far as Sarpy county, and westward in the Nemaha, Blue and 

 Republican river valleys to Franklin county. 



Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotiiia Ehrh.) occurs in the forests 

 of Missouri, from which it has spread into southern and eastern Ne- 

 braska, to Sarpy county along the lyiissouri river, and Franklin county 

 in the valley of the Republican river. 



Wild Plum (Prunus americana Marsh.) is common in the country 

 east of the plains, into and across which it appears to have been carried, 

 so that it is now found in the Rocky mountain region. It is found in 

 all parts of Nebraska, even in the "pockets" in the Sand Hills into which 

 it must have been carried by birds. 



Kentucky Coffee Tree ( Gymnocladus dioica (L.) Koch.). The 

 large monocarpellary fruits (15-18 centimetres long, 4-5 wide, and 

 nearly 2 centimetres thick) contain about half a dozen large, spherical, 

 very hard seeds, imbedded in a sweet pulp. The ripened pods hang on 

 the trees for a part of the winter, and when they fall are picked up by 

 quadrupeds which are attracted by their sweet odor. The hardness of 

 the seeds prevents their being crushed. The tree occurs in the Missouri 

 forests, and has followed the Missouri and Niobrara rivers northwest- 

 ward to Rock county. In the southeastern part of the state it has fol- 

 lowed the smaller streams westward fifty to sixty miles from the Mis- 

 souri river. 



Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L. ). The large twisted and 

 bent monocarpellary fruits (20-30 centimetres long, 2-2.5 wide, and 0.5 

 thick), contain ten or more very hard, flat seeds, bedded in a sweet 

 pulp. The pods fall from the tree during the winter and are picked ip 

 and partly eaten by the larger quadrupeds, as swine, cattle, etc., and 

 doubtless were also by deer, buffaloes, and other wild animals before 

 the advent of white men. The hardness of the seeds preserves them 

 from injury. The tree is common in the forests of Missouri, and has 

 been carried up the Missouri river and its tributaries so that now it 



