144 sy;s'ii:matic pomology 



J a pa fuse plums. 



Japanese ])lunis a;-e now cullivalcd wherever plums ai-e ^rown. 

 The wild form is not known. It is, however, almost eertainly 

 a native of China, tliou^di the liabitat of the species cannot be 

 determined accurately until western and southwestern China 

 have Iteen explored by l)o1anists. 



205. Botanical description of the Japanese plum. — Long 

 known as /'. trijloni, or the Ti-ifjora plums, it was but recently 

 learned that the first tenable botanical name given this group of 

 fruits is l\ salicin<i'. 



4. Prunus salicinu, Lindl. (Plate VII) Tree 20-30 feet in height; bark 

 thick, rough, reddish or cinnanion-brovvn, peach-like. Leaves small, ob- 

 long-obovate; margins closely serrated, sometimes in two series; teeth 

 usually glandular; petioles i/^ inch in length, tinged with red; glands few 

 or several, usually globose, greenish. Flowers first of plum blossoms to 

 appear, % inch in diameter; 3 springing from each flower-bud. Fruit 

 1-2 inches in diameter, globular, heart-shaped or conical; cavity deep; apex 

 pointed; suture prominent; color bright red or yellow, never blue or purple, 

 lustrous, with little or no bloom; dots small, numerous, conspicuous; skin 

 thin, tough, astringent; flesh red or yellow, firm, fibrous, juicy; stone cling- 

 ing tenaciously or free, small, rough, oval, one edge grooved, the other 

 ridged. 



206. Botanical differences between Japanese and other 

 plums. — The botanical differences between these Asiatic plums 

 and those from Europe and America are most interesting. In 

 general aspect, the trees of the Japanese plums in summer or 

 winter are much more like those of the American species than 

 those from Europe or west Asia; so, also, the fruits are more 

 alike in appearance and in quality, and the peach-like foliage of 

 the Japanese might easily be mistaken for that of the native 

 varieties of Hortulana or iMunsoniana. In the manner in which 

 the buds are borne and in vernation, the resemblance of the ori- 

 ental species to the Americanas, Hortulanas, and Munsonianas is 

 again most striking. In Asiatic and American species the buds are 

 borne in twos and threes, while in the European species they 

 are more often single or double. As might be expected from 

 their nearness of kin, the Japanese plums hybridize readily with 

 the American species and especially with the Hortulanas and 

 Munsonianas, species which they most resemble, and between 

 which there are several valuable hybrids. 



