PRUNUS 



-239 



three at each joint, very short-stalked, bright rosy pink, .'. to 

 calyx funnel-shaped, 1 in. long, with short, 

 pointed lobes. Fruit roundish, in. long, red, 

 juicy, containing a roundish stone ] in. or rather 

 more long. 



Native of the north-western Himalaya, Thibet, 

 and Afghanistan ; introduced to Kew in 1879 by 

 Or Aitchison from the Kurrum Valley, where it 

 occurs at altitudes of about 6000 ft. It has been 

 confused with P. humilis, under the notice of 

 which the distinctions have been pointed out. 

 P. Jacquemontii is a pretty cherry, perfectly 

 hardy, and makes shoots over i ft. long during 

 a season, which are well furnished with flowers 

 towards the end of the following April. Propa- 

 gated by layers. There are bushes at Kew 12 ft. 

 high and 12 ft. through. 



in. diameter ; 



P. JAPONIC A, Thunberg. 



(Dot. Mag., t. 8260 ; P. sinensis, Person, 

 P. glandulosa, Thunberg?) 



A dwarf bush of neat, rounded habit, up to 

 4 or 5 ft. high, with smooth branches. Leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, I to 2^ ins. long, f to I in. 

 wide ; more or less drawn* out at the apex, finely 

 toothed, almost or quite smooth ; stalk \ in. or 

 less long ; stipules linear, with gland-tipped 

 teeth. Flowers white or rosy, scarcely ^ in. 

 across, on stalks J in. long, produced in April. 

 Fruits scarcely i in. in diameter, red, making a 

 bright display when freely borne. 



Var. FLORE PLENO. The double varieties of 

 P. japonica, of which there are two ALBO 

 (white) and ROSEO (pink) provide a remarkable 

 illustration of how much the flowers of a plant 

 can be improved by cultivation. The typical 

 plant in flower is a pretty but by no means 

 striking shrub, whereas the double varieties are 

 amongst the very elite of their class. The 

 flowers carry numerous petals, and are I to 

 i^ ins. in diameter, and their stalks become 

 | in. or more long. The foliage too is finer, the 

 leaves measuring 3 to 4 ins. in length by I in. 

 in width. They flower in early May, later than 

 the type. The double varieties have been culti- 

 vated, and brought to their present perfection 

 in China and Japan. The rosy-coloured one 

 was growing in Lee's nursery at Hammersmith 

 in 1774. 



The single-flowered type appears to have 

 been cultivated in England in London's time 

 as Cerasus japonica, but it disappeared from PRHKUS JAPONICA var. FLORE PLENO. 

 gardens and was not reintroduced until late 



in the nineteenth century. It is allied to P. humilis (q.v.). The double- 

 flowered varieties are now very largely used for forcing early into bloom 



