338 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



62. AMYGDALACEAE. Almond Family. 



Trees oi- shrubs ; leaves alternate, entire or serrate, persistent or deciduous, 

 stipulate ; flowers perfect, often showy, usually solitary, cyniose, corymbose, or 

 racemose ; petals 5 ; stamens numerous ; fruit a drui>e. 



Style subterminal ; leaves often serrate 1. PRUNUS. 



Style basilar ; leaves entire. 

 Stamens 3 to 10. 



Petals none or minute 2. LICANIA. 



Petals 5 3. HIRTELLA. 



Stamens 15 to many. 



Anthers linear, elongate 4. LECOSTEMON. 



Anthers short, didymous or rounded. 



Calyx tube elongate; inflorescence racemose or paniculate; ovary adnate 



to the throat of the calyx 5. COTJEPIA, 



Calyx tube campanulate ; inflorescence cymose ; ovary sessile in the bot- 

 tom of the calyx 6. CHBYSOBAIiANUS. 



1. PRUNUS L. Sp. PI. 473. 1753. 



Reference: Koehne, Bot. Jahrb. Engler 52: 279-333. 1915. 



Trees oi" shrubs ; leaves serrate or entii-e, the teeth often gland-tipped ; flowers 

 solitary, corymbose, umbellate, or racemose ; fruit glabrous or pubescent. 



Several important fruit trees of this genus are cultivated in Mexico, chief of 

 wliich are the following: The peach, Pninus persica (L. ) Sieb. & Zucc, 

 " dnrazno,"' " melocotOn," " priseo," " alln^rchigo," " pahsh " (Mixe, Belmar), 

 " flhcanza," " ixi " (OtomI, Buelna) ; the apricot, P. armeniaca L., " chabacano," 

 " albaricoque," "-damasco " ; the almond, P. communis (L.) Fritsch, " almen- 

 dro" (the tree), " alrnendra " (the fruit); various plums, P. doniestica L.. 

 P. insititia L., etc., " ciruelo," " ciruelo de Espaiia " ; and cherries, P. cerasui 

 L., " cerezo," (the tree), " cereza " (the fruit), " guindo." All these v,-ere 

 doubtless introduced into Mexico by the Spaniards at an early date. It is of 

 interest to note that peaches were probably introtluced into the United States 

 directly from Mexico. Havard remarks ' upon the subject as follows : 



" The Indians certainly exhibited commendable promptness and industry, 

 after the advent of the whites, in introducing such fruits as were shown to be 

 desirable. Thus the Peach brought to Mexico soon after the conquest was» 

 according to the testimony of DuPratz, found in general cultivation among 

 the Indians of Louisiana when the French settled that province in 1G98, and 

 had become abundant in Georgia at the time of the settlement of the English 

 in 1732. Wm. Bartram describes the carefully planted Orange groves of the 

 Indians which he noticed in 1773. The early introduction and propagation 

 of these two plants by the Indians led to the erroneous impression that they 

 were of American origin." 

 Flowers solitary, fascicled, or umbellate ; ovary often pubescent. 



Flowers umbellate; fruit large, 1.8 to 2.5 cm. long, glabrous__l. P. mexicana. 



Flowers solitary or fasciculate ; fruit usually less than 1 cm. long. 



Ovary glabrous 2. P. apodantha. 



Ovary pubescent. 



Leaves entire or nearly so. 



Leaves oval or obovate 3. P. minutiflora. 



Leaves linear-oblanceolate 4. P. fasciculata. 



' V. Havard. Food plants of the North American Indians, Bull. Torrey Club 

 22: 98-123. 1895. 



