34 
SILVA OF NORTH AMERICA. 
ROSACEA. 
the borders of the forests of Long-leaved Pine, which it enlivens in the early days of spring with its 
profusion of pure white flowers. 
The wood of Prunus umbellata is heavy, hard, and close-grained, with many thin medullary rays ; 
it is dark red-brown, with thick lighter colored sapwood composed of about thirty layers of annual growth. 
The specific gravity of the absolutely dry wood is 0.8202, a cubic foot weighing 51.11 pounds. 
The fruit is gathered in large quantities and is used in making jellies and jams. 
Prunus umbellata appears to have escaped the notice of the botanists who explored the flora of 
the southern states during the last century, and was first distinguished by Stephen Elliott, who pub- 
lished the earliest account of it in his Sketch of the Botany of South Carolina and Georgia. 
1 It is remarkable that this very distinct and common plant, 
which in early spring is a most attractive and conspicuous feature 
of the coast region of Georgia and northern Florida, should have 
been overlooked by such keen observers as Catesby, John and Wil- 
liam Bartram, and the two Michauxs, who were all familiar with 
this region and who traveled several times through a portion of it 
at least. Elliott considered the Prunus pumila of Walter (Fl. Car. 
146) identical with his Prunus wmbellata, but Walter’s description is 
so meagre and vague that the identity of his plant is very doubtful. 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 
Puate CLV. Prunus UMBELLATA. 
ON OMI ee 
A flowering branch, natural size. 
Vertical section of a flower, enlarged. 
A fruiting branch, natural size. 
Vertical section of a fruit, part of the flesh removed, natural size. 
Vertical section of a stone, enlarged. 
An embryo, enlarged. 
A stone, natural size. 
Part of a leafy young branchlet with stipules, natural size. 
