152 S YS TEM A TIC PO M O LOG Y 



African, Cluck, Jennie Liieas, and Yellow Transparent may be 

 named as representative varieties. 



M u n so n ia mi pi ii ms. 



Pomol()«j:ieally the Munsoniana i)lums constitute the most im- 

 portant group for the South containing a greater number of 

 cultivated varieties than any other native species excepting P. 

 anwricana, no less than sixty sorts, some of which are deservedly 

 the best known of the native plums for either home or market 

 use. The species is widely distributed in the wild in the south- 

 ern states. 



221. Botanical description of P. Munsoniana. — Long con- 

 fused with P. any list i folia, a comparison of the descriptions 

 shows well-marked differences. 



11. Primus Munsoniana, Wight and Hedrick. (Plate X) Tree 20-30 

 feet in height; bark grayish-bro^^^l, shaggy, furrowed; branches spreading, 

 slender, zigzag, little or not at all thorny. Leaves li/4 inches wide, 4 inches 

 long, oblong-lanceolate; apex tapering, rounded at the base, texture thin; 

 margins closely and finely serratej teeth with small dark red glands; 

 petioles % inch long, reddish, usually with two glands at the base of 

 the leaf -blade. Flowers late; about % inch across; 2 or 4 flowers in a 

 cluster; pedicels I/2 inch long, slender, glabrous. Fruit early; globose, 1 

 inch in diameter; bright currant -red, rarely yellow; bloom thin; dots con- 

 spicuous; cavity shallow, narrow; suture a line; apex rounded; flesh light 

 yellow, juicy, soft, fibrous, sweet; aromatic; stone clinging, prolonged at 

 the apex, obliquely truncate at the base, roughened, grooved on the dorsal 

 edge, thick-margined and grooved on the ventral one. 



222. Pomological characters of Munsoniana plums. — For des- 

 sert or the kitchen the fruits are i)articularly valuable, having 

 a sprightly vinous flavor which makes them pleasant to eat out 

 of hand or w^hen cooked. Their bright colors, semi-transparent 

 skins, and well-turned forms make them very attractive in ap- 

 pearance. Unfortunately, nearly all of the varieties of this 

 species are clingstones. This group hybridizes more freelj^ than 

 any other of the plums, and there are a great number of promis- 

 ing hybrids. Of all plums, these are most in need of cross- 

 pollination, some of the varieties being nearly, or, as in the 

 case of Wild Goose, wholly self-sterile. While these plums are 

 especially valuable in the southern states, some of them are de- 

 sirable in the North as well, w^here all will grow^ at least as far 



