214 JOURNAL OF THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM [vol. v 



Distribution: also cultivated in other provinces of China and often 



escaped and naturalized. 



Though it is not known with certainty that the Peach occurs spontane- 

 ously anywhere in China, it seems highly probable that the northern 

 provinces of China are the native country of P. Persica as is also the 

 opinion of Laufer (Sino-Iranica, 539|[1919]). As is the case with other 

 long and extensively cultivated fruit trees, it is usually impossible to make 

 sure if plants found growing spontaneously are really native or only escaped 

 and naturalized. Mr. Wilson found the Peach growing spontaneously 

 in many places in central China remote from present-day settlements, 

 but he tells me that he never felt sure that they were native as there was 

 always the possibility that they were naturalized from old wiped out settle- 

 ments. 



Prunus Persica f. duplex (Weston) Rehder in Jour. Arnold Arb. in. 



24 (1922). 



Amygdalus Persica p. multiplex Bunge in M6m. Div. Sav. Acad. Sci. St. 

 P&ersb. ii. 96 (Enum. PL Chin. Bor. 22) (1833). 



Chili: cultivated at Peking (ex Bunge, L c). 



Another double-flowered form has white flowers (P. Persica f. albo- 

 plena Schneider, 111. Handb. Laubholzk. I. 594 [1900]); a specimen (no. 

 1983), though in leaf only, was sent by J. Hers from Cheng chow, Honan. 



Prunus communis Arcangeli, Comp. Fl. Ital. 209 (1882). 



Amygdalus communis Linnaeus, Spec. 676 (1753). — ? Debeaux in Act. Soc. 

 Linn. Bordeaux, xxxm. 41 (Fl. Tien-tsin, 18) (1879).— ? Bretschneider 

 in Jour. N. China Branch R. As. Soc. n. ser. xv. 149 (Early Eur. Research. 

 China) (1880). 

 ? Chili: cultivated (ex Debeaux, 1. c). 



Debeaux is apparently mistaken when he states that the Almond is 

 cultivated in Chili. I have seen no specimens of this species from China 

 and none of the other botanists record it. Bretschneider (1. c.) states that 

 Dr. Hance wrote him that he never heard of the Almond tree having 

 been observed in China, and that the Amygdalus communis of Bunge 

 is P. Davidiana, a statement I have been able to verify, as there is a 

 flowering specimen of Bunge's Amygdalus communis in the Gray Her- 

 barium. Also Meyer (in U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. PL Indust. Bull. cciv. 21 

 [1911]) says that he never saw a single true Almond tree in China and that 

 kernels sold as almonds in Chili and Shantung are those of P. Armeniaca. 

 Laufer (Sino-Iranica, 405-409) adduces sufficient evidence to show that 

 the Almond was introduced from Persia and is not a native of China. 



Prunus Davidiana Franchet in Nouv. Arch. Mus. Paris, ser. 2, v. 255 

 (PL David, i. 103) (1883).— Bretschneider, Hist. Eur. Bot. Discov. China, 

 860 (1898).— Koehne in Sargent, PI. Wilson. I. 275 (1912).— Hers in Jour. 

 N. China Branch R. As. Soc. mi. 113 (1922); Liste Ess. Lign. Honan, 

 22 (1922). 



