PRUNUS 233 



P. COCOMILIA, Tenore. NAPLES PLUM. 



A deciduous bush or small tree, with smooth shoots and oval or obovate 

 leaves \\> to 2 ins. long, to f ins. wide, finely toothed, nearly or quite smooth. 

 Flowers "white, scarcely in. wide, appearing towards the end of April on 

 short stalks, mostly in pairs. Fruit yellow, well-flavoured, of an oval or 

 oblong form, \\ ins. long, scarcely i in. wide, tapered at the apex. But little 

 is known of this plum in this country. It was first described early in the 

 nineteenth century by Tenore, an Italian botanist who made a special study 

 of the flora about Naples, where the species grows wild in hedges, etc. The 

 specific name has been variously spelled. The tree has little to recommend 

 it for gardens ; it rarely bears fruit in this country. 



P. COMMUNIS, Hudson. WILD PLUM. 



(P. domestica, Linn&us (in part).) 



A deciduous tree up to i $ or 20 ft. high, or a shrub, of suckering habit, 

 with brown, smooth, unarmed branches. Leaves elliptical or obovate, downy 

 beneath on the midrib and veins, i^ to 3 ins. long, of a dull greyish green, 

 margins set with rounded even teeth ; stalk downy, glandular, about \ in. 

 long. Flowers produced in April singly or in pairs, from the buds of the 

 previous year's shoots, white, f to i in. across ; stalks in. long, smooth. 

 Fruit black with blue bloom, egg-shaped, i to i^ ins. long. (See also P. 

 insititia.) 



The wild plum, although occasionally met with in hedgerows, etc., as an 

 escape from cultivation, is not a true native of Britain. It is even doubtful 

 if it be a native of Europe, although found in many places apparently 

 naturalised. The plum is largely used as a stock for almonds, peaches, 

 etc., being very hardy. It is not worth growing for ornament in gardens, at 

 least in its typical form. An old tree in blossom is pretty, but not more so 

 than the fruit-bearing plums commonly grown, of which it is one of the 

 parents. 



Var. FLORE PLENO has double flowers, and is more ornamental than the 

 type. The double-flowered plum, P. PLAN T TIERENSIS, is of a similar character. 



P. CORNUTA, Wallich. HIMALAYAN BIRD CHERRY. 



(Padus cornuta, Carriere.) 



A deciduous tree, 50 to 60 ft. high in a wild state ; young shoots either 

 finely downy or quite smooth. Leaves ovate-oblong, or somewhat obovate ; 

 3 to 6 ins. long, i to 2 ins. wide ; the base varying from heart-shaped to 

 tapering, the apex slender-pointed, the margins finely toothed ; downy along 

 the midrib and veins beneath when young, deep dull green above, paler 

 beneath ; stalk \ to i|- ins. long, mostly with glands at the top. Flowers 

 white, densely set on cylindrical, quite smooth, or finely downy racemes, 3 to 

 6 ins. long, | to I in. wide ; each flower is to ^ in. across. Fruit round, in. 

 in diameter, red, changing to dark brown purple. Flowers in May. 



Native of the Himalaya, where it is widely spread up to 10,000 ft., and 

 represents in that region P. Padus. So nearly are they allied, that many 

 botanists regard them as forms of one species. According to travellers in the 

 Himalaya, I J . cornuta grows to considerably larger size than does P. Padus 

 as we know it in England. The name cornuta (horned) refers to the sh:ipe 

 of the fruits as often seen in the Himalaya. An insect deposits its eggs in 

 the young fruit, and as the larvae develop they set up irritation and cause a 



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