﻿Ttrcx of New Yovl- Stair 253 



ROSACEAE 



Primus Mahaleb L. 



Mahaleb Cherry, St. Lucie Cherry 



Habit ~ A small, slender tree 20-25 feet in height with a trunk diameter of 

 G-12 inches, or a flowering shrub. Bole short, breaking up a short distance 

 above the ground into stout, ascending branches to form a broad, low, 

 rounded crown. 



Leaves — Alternate, round-ovate to orbicular, 1-2 inches in diameter 

 abruptly sharp-pointed at the apex, rounded or somewhat cordate at 

 the base, finely glandular-serrate, at maturity thin, firm, light green, 

 smooth and somewhat glaucous on both sides, fragrant, borne on slender 

 petioles I/2-I inch long. 



Flowers — Appearing in May and June when the leaves are partly grown, 

 perfect, white, about % of an inch broad, borne on stout pedicels in 

 several-flowered, racemose corymbs terminal on short leafy branches of 

 the year. Calyx-tube urn-shaped, glabrous, with 5 strongly reflexed 

 lobes. Petals 5, white, obovate, obtuse, short-elaw^ed at the base, inserted 

 with the stamens on the calyx-tube. Stamens about 30, with slender 

 filaments and oblong anthers. Pistil green, glabrous, consisting of a 

 1-celled ovary, long style, and broad, simple stigma. 



Fruit — A depressed-globose or globose-ovoid, long-stalked, reddish black and 

 lustrous, mipalatable drupe, about % of an inch in diameter, ripening 

 in early summer. Flesh thin, firm, bitter. Stone small, globose, slightly 

 compressed. 



Winter characters — TAvigs slender, glabrous, grayish red and lustrous, 

 fragrant. Buds ovate, acute, grayish red, those near the branch-tip some- 

 what clustered. Mature bark thin, close, dark gray, somewhat roughened 

 by shallow ridges. 



Habitat — In waste places along roadsides, fence rows, and about abandoned 

 homesteads, preferring a moist, rich soil. 



Range ■ — ■ Native to middle and southern Europe. Sparingly naturalized in 

 southern New York and southward. Zones A and B. 



Uses — Introduced from abroad as a stock on which to graft garden cherries. 

 Wood hard, heavj-, close-grained, fragrant, dark red. Prized abroad as a 

 cabinet wood and for the manufacture of small trinkets. The species 

 has ornamental value but is seldom used here. 



