PRUNUS 251 



long, slender point; rounded, sometimes slightly heart-shaped at the base, 

 sharply toothed ; 2 to 4 ins. long, about half as wide ; quite smooth on both 

 surfaces, often reddish when young ; stalk smooth, to i in. long, with a pair 

 of glands near the blade. Bracts red, oblong, ^ in. long, edged with small 

 glandular teeth. Flowers ij to i^ ins. across, of a lovely deep blush colour, 

 produced two to six together in short-stalked umbels, each flower with a stalk 

 i to 1 1 ins. long ; petals obovate, notched at the broad apex ; calyx tubular, 

 with five ovate, pointed lobes in. long, smooth and entire ; stamens deep 

 rose. Fruit a small black cherry, -1- in. wide. 



Native of Japan ; introduced by Sargent to Kew in 1893. This splendid 

 cherry, probably the finest of the true cherries as a timber tree, is also one of 

 the most beautiful in its blossom. It flowers in April. In June 1910 I saw 

 the trees first introduced to America in the Arnold Arboretum ; they were then 

 laden with an extraordinary profusion of small black cherries. The seeds 

 germinate freely after lying dormant a year. 



P. SEROTINA, Ehrkart. RUM CHERRY. 

 (Padus serotina, Agardh^ 



A large deciduous tree, reaching in its most favoured situations a height of 

 80 to 100 ft., and occasionally found with trunks 16 ft. in circumference. In 

 England it is usually 30 to 50 ft. high, the young bark smooth, bitter, aromatic, 

 not unpleasant to the taste. Leaves oval-lanceolate, sometimes narrowly 

 obovate, tapering towards both ends ; 2 to 5^ ins. long, and from I to if ins. 

 wide ; smooth and shining above, paler beneath, and usually hairy along the 

 midrib ; margins set with shallow incurved teeth ; stalk \ to i in. long. 

 Flowers white, \ in. in diameter, produced in cylindrical racemes 4 to 6 ins. 

 long, | in. in diameter. Fruit black, \ in. across, round, but rather flattened 

 like an orange. 



Native of N. America, where it is widely spread, reaching from Nova 

 Scotia to Florida, and westwards to Dakota, Texas, Arizona, etc. At its 

 finest, which is in the Allegheny mountains of Virginia, it is probably the 

 largest of all the Prunus tribe. In Great Britain it thrives very well, and 

 makes a handsome middle-sized tree of graceful habit, whose dark glittering 

 foliage in summer very much resembles that of a Portugal laurel, but it is of 

 course deciduous, and dies off a pleasing yellow. Whilst the flowers are 

 borne profusely, the fruits come but sparingly ; in the United States the latter 

 are used for flavouring rum and brandy, and for that purpose are said to be 

 equal to the Morello cherry. I am not aware that this tree has been tried 

 under forest conditions here, but its timber is much valued by cabinet-makers, 

 and judging by its behaviour at Kew it will thrive better than many trees on 

 sandy ground. The largest specimen there is 45 ft. high, with a trunk 5 ft. 

 3 ins. in girth. 



Var. ASPLENIFOLIA. Leaves deeply and irregularly cut at the margins. 



Var. PENDULA. A pretty tree with weeping branches, usually budded on 

 tall stems of P. Padus. 



Var. SALICIFOLIA, Nicholson. Under this name a very distinct form of 

 P. serotina is grown at Kew. It is a tree 25 ft. high, with pendulous 

 branches, and leaves of a dark glossy green like those of the type, but narrow, 

 and hanging loose and pendent like those of a willow. It is perfectly hardy, 

 and occasionally bears good crops of fruit. 



The rum cherry is widely spread in N. America, and one of its allies 

 reaches through Mexico across the Isthmus of Panama as far south as the 

 mountains of Peru. Near Quito in Ecuador, where this tree grows on the 

 equator, it appears to be in fruit the whole year round. This is P. SALICI- 

 FOLIA, Kunth) distinct from the variety of P. serotina so named. 



