52 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Prunus 



angustifolia. 



has a pleasant taste, although the skin is very tough 



and acid. The leaves are large, double-toothed, 



coarsely veined, and smooth without a gloss. The 



tree is common in woodlands and on river banks 



from west New England to Minnesota.* 



_. . The Chickasaw plum 



Chickasaw Plum. r 



Prunus CMcasa. naS a lon g> lance " 



shaped, but broad 

 leaf, with very fine 

 teeth, a shining green surface, and a 

 red stem. The fruit is one half to two 

 thirds of an inch in diameter, globular, 

 thin-skinned, of a lustrous reddish color, 

 with a slight bloom, and is pleasantly fla- 

 vored ; it usually ripens in early summer. 

 The tree is small, its average height be- 

 ing between 15 and 20 feet; rarely it 

 attains 25 feet. It grows wild in Dela- 

 ware, and extends westward and southward to Kan- 

 sas, Texas, and Florida. It is widely cultivated. 



., n v The leaf of the wild red cherry, gen- 



Wild Red Cherry, J ' & 



or Bird Cherry, erally called bird cherry, is similar in 

 Prunus shape to that of the Chickasaw plum, 



Pennsylvanica. , 



but its distinct peculiarity is a certain 

 graceful, wavy outline, and a shining light green, 



* The range of the Canada plum has been greatly extended 

 through cultivation. 



Chickasaw 

 Plum. 



