Plum Botany 13 



The older botanies in use in this country mostly 

 include in the genus Primus all the peaches, cherries 

 and plums, after the plan of Bentham & Hooker. In 

 die more recent publications, however, there is a mani- 

 fest tendency to return to the earlier classification 

 which puts these different fruits into two, or even 

 three, separate genera. In the view of the present 

 writer, the latter disposition is the better. It does 

 not, however, affect the treatment to be given the 

 plums in this book, since here we shall be concerned 

 with the plums only, which are included by all bota- 

 nists in the genus Primus. 



Similarly the older American botanies, still fol- 

 lowing Bentham & Hooker, refer this aggregate genus 

 Primus to the family Rosaccac, while later publications 

 in this country put the plums in another family called 

 Drupaceae. This change also seems an improvement, 

 and will be followed here. 



We are now ready to proceed with the botanical 

 descriptions, names and classifications. 



Family, Drupaceae, DC. — Trees or shrubs with alternate, 

 petiolate, serrate leaves, the small stipules early deciduous, the 

 teeth and petiole often glandular. Flowers in corymbs, um- 

 bels, racemes or solitary, regular and nearly always perfect. 

 Calyx inferior, mostly early deciduous, free from the ovary 

 five-lobed. Disk annular. Calyx lobes imbricated in the bud. 

 Petals, five, inserted on the calyx. Stamens numerous, in- 

 serted on the calyx at the base of the petals. Pistil nearly 

 always single, with two ovules, only one of which normally 

 develops ; style simple ; stigma mostly small, capitate. Fruit, 

 a drupe. The bark of most species exudes gum, and the leaves, 

 bark and seeds contain prussic acid, making them bitter. There 

 are about six genera and over one hundred species, the ma- 

 jority of which grow in the north temperate zone. 



Genus, Prunus, Linn. — Trees or shrubs, mostly with edi- 

 ble fruits ; flowers, white or pink, with spreading petals. 

 Stamens, 15-30, distinct, wiln filiform filaments. Style, ter- 

 minal ; stigma, usually truncate. The fruit with a fleshy exte- 

 rior, glabrous, and containing a hard bony pit, which in turn 

 contains the seed. There are about ninety species of the 

 genus as here defined. 



