PRUNUS 231 



originated as an accidental cross in the grounds of Mr J. E. Johnson, at 

 Red River, Nebraska. Fruits blue-black. (See also P. pumila.) 



P. BRIGANTIACA, Villars. BRIANON APRICOT. 



(Armeniaca brigantiaca, Persoon^) 



A small, deciduous, bushy tree, 10 to 20 ft. high, with a short trunk. 

 Leaves ovate or oval, often slightly heart-shaped at the base, shortly and 

 abruptly pointed, the margins doubly and rather jaggedly toothed ; i|- to 3 

 ins. long, I to i\ ins. wide ; hairy beneath, especially on the veins and mid- 

 rib ; stalk \ to f in. long. Flowers white or pinkish, f in. or so across, two 

 or more together. Fruit like a small apricot, of a rather clear yellow, smooth. 



This tree grpws spontaneously in the neighbourhood of Briangon, and it 

 is said also to occur wild in Piedmont. From the seeds the Briangonnais 

 express an inflammable, agreeably perfumed oil, known as huile de Marmotte. 

 This apricot has little to recommend it for gardens. 



P. CANESCENS, D. Bois. GREY-LEAVED CHERRY. 



A deciduous shrub of dense, rounded, bushy form, probably 6 to 8 ft. high 

 eventually ; branchlets more or less hairy. Leaves lanceolate or narrowly 

 ovate, ii to i\ ins. long, \ to i in. wide ; coarsely and doubly toothed, the 

 base rounded or tapering, the apex long-pointed ; both surfaces, especially 

 the lower one, furnished with persistent, soft, greyish hairs ; stalk to J in. 

 long, hairy, issuing from between two leaf-like, deeply toothed, hairy stipules 

 in. long. Flowers rosy white, scarcely in. wide, produced (each on a 

 sparsely hairy stalk \ in. long) in clusters of three to five ; calyx tubular, with 

 five triangular lobes half as long as the tube ; petals soon falling. Fruit 

 round to oblong, -J- in. diameter, smooth, red, with a pleasant cherry-like taste. 



Native of China ; obtained in 1898 from the province of Szechuen by 

 Mr Maurice de Vilmorin, and flowered at Les Barres in 1901. Introduced in 

 1905 to Kew, where it flowers about mid- April. It is a very distinct cherry 

 because of the thick coat of soft hairs which covers the leaves and other 

 younger parts of the plant, but is reduced in value as an ornamental plant by 

 the fleeting nature of the petals. Mr Bois, the author of the name, assumes a 

 relationship between it and P. Maximowiczii. The latter species, however, 

 is very distinct in its stalked racemes several inches long furnished with leaf- 

 like bracts. P. canescens is abundant in Wilson's later collectings. 



P. CERASIFERA, Ehrhart. CHERRY PLUM, MYROBALAN. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 5934.) 



A deciduous, round-headed tree up to 30 ft. in height ; young bark smooth. 

 Leaves ovate, oval or obovate, ij to 2% ins. long, i to if ins. wide ; toothed, 

 downy along the midrib and veins beneath. Flowers f to i in. across, pure 

 white, produced usually singly, sometimes two or three together, at each bud 

 of the previous year's shoots, but often crowded on short spur-like twigs so as 

 to form dense clusters. Fruit smooth, red, i to i ins. in diameter, round, 

 indented at the junction with the stalk. 



Of doubtful origin, but thought to be a native of the Caucasus. The 

 cherry plum is now a well-known tree in gardens, and is sometimes used as 

 a stock for grafting. As flowering trees it and its near ally P. divaricata are 

 the most beautiful of the true plums, being almost covered with pure white 

 blossom in March, The fruits are developed not infrequently at Kew, but 

 never in great quantity. They are occasionally to be seen in considerable 



