The Trees of Vermont 157 



ROSACEAE 



Wild Plum. Canada Plum 



Prunus nigra Ait. [Frunus amerlcana, v. nigra Waugh] 



Habit. — A small tree 20-25 feet high and 5-8 inches in trunk di- 

 ameter; usually divides 5-6 feet from the ground into a number of 

 stout, upright branches, forming a narrow, rigid crown. 



Leaves. — Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long and one-half as broad ; 

 oblong-ovate to obovate, abruptly acuminate at the apex ; doubly 

 crenate-serrate ; thick and firm ; glabrous, light green above, paler 

 beneath; petioles short, stout, bearing 2 large red glands near the 

 blade. 



Flowers. — April-May, before the leaves ; perfect ; slightly frag- 

 rant ; about 1 inch across ; borne on slender, glabrous, red pedicels in 

 2-3-flowered umbels ; calyx 5-lobed, dark red ; petals 5, white ; stamens 

 15-20, with purple anthers ,* ovary 1-celled; style 1 ; stigma 1. 



Fruit. — August-September; a fleshy drupe, about 1 inch long, 

 oblong-ovoid, with a tough, thick, orange-red skin nearly free from 

 bloom, and yellow flesh adherent to the flat stone. Eaten raw or 

 cooked. 



Winter-buds. — Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ^-34 ii^ch 

 long, ovate, acute, chestnut-brown. 



Bark. — Twigs green, marked by numerous pale excrescences, later 

 dark brown ; thin, gray-brown and smooth on young trunks, but soon 

 splitting off in large, thick plates, exposing the darker inner bark. 



Wood. — Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, light red-brown, with 

 thin, lighter colored sapwood. 



Distribution. — Frequent, especially in the northern portion of 

 the state ; never native in eastern Vermont. 



Habitat. — Woods ; fence-rows. 



Notes. — The Canada plum, found frequently in Vermont, is a 

 small tree or shrub, with gray-brown bark and short, spiny branch- 

 lets. It may be recognized by its broad, coarse leaves, sometimes four 

 inches long and two or three inches wide. The flowers are abundant, 

 large and strong, of a fine pinkish color, and appear about the first 

 week in May. The fruit, often an inch in diameter, ripens in August. 

 It is sometimes rather bitter, but occasional trees bear good eatable 

 fruit. 



