AMYGDALACEyE. V. CERASUS. 



515 



Lucie. The fruit is black, yielding a bitter purple juice, the 

 stain of which is not easily effaced. A fragrant and pleasant 

 distilled water is made from both leaves and flowers. 



Mahaleb Bird-cherry. Fl. Ap. May. Clt. 1714. Tree 10 ft. 



31 C. PA'DUS (D. C. fl. fr. 4. p. 580.) racemes elongated, 

 leafy, drooping ; petals obovate j leaves ovate-lanceolate, rather 

 acuminated ; fruit round, black, astringent. 1? . H. Native of 

 Europe and Siberia, in hedges and in woods; plentiful in some 

 parts of Britain. Primus Padus, Lin. spec. 677. Smith, engl. bot. 

 t.l 383. Flowers white. Fruitblack, called bird-cherry, fowl-cherry, 

 cluster-cherry, and in Scotland hag-berry. A strong decoction 

 of the bark is used by the Finlanders to cure venereal complaints. 

 The fruit is nauseous to most palates, but infused in gin or 

 whiskey it greatly improves these spirits, and is only surpassed 

 by an infusion of peach leaves. 



Far. a, vulgaris (Scr. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 539.) flowers large, 

 loose, on long peduncles ; fruit black. Prunus padus a, D. C. 

 fl. fr. 4. p. 580. Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 2. t. 1. 



Var. ft, parvifldra (Ser. 1. c.) flowers smaller ; peduncles 

 shorter and denser ; fruit black. Oed. fl. dan. t. 205. 



Var. y, rubra (Ser. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 539.) fruit red. C. 

 Padus fructu rubro, D. C. fl. fr. 4. p. 580. Lois. 1. c. Prunus 

 rubra, Willd. arbr. 237. t. 4. f. 2. ex Ait. hort. kew. ed. 2. p. 

 299. This is the Cornish or red-bird cherry. 



Var. S, bracteosa (Ser. mss. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 539.) flowers 

 very numerous ; pedicels furnished with long bracteas. C. Padus 

 S, D. C. herb. 



Common Padus or Bird-cherry. Fl. April, May. Britain. 

 Tree 10 to 30 feet. 



32 C. ACUMINA'TA (Wall. pi. rar. asiat. 2. p. 78. t. 181.) 

 leaves lanceolate, acuminated, remotely serrated, and are, as well 

 as the flowers, glabrous, sometimes with a few glands beneath ; 

 racemes axillary, solitary, or in fascicles, a little shorter than the 

 leaves. ^ . G. Native of the mountains of Nipaul. Flowers 

 white. Racemes nodding. Aroa is the Nipaul name of the 

 tree. 



Aciiminated-\esL-ve& Bird-cherry. Tree 20 to 30 feet. 



33 C. VIRGINIA'NA (Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 285.) racemes 

 erect, elongated ; petals orbicular ; leaves oblong, acuminated, 

 doubly-toothed, smooth; petioles usually bearing about 4 glands ; 

 fruit red. Jj . H. Native of Virginia, Carolina, and Canada. Prunus 

 rubra, Ait. hort. kew. ed. 1. vol. 2. p. 162. Willd. arb. 238. t. 

 5. f. 1. Prunus argiita, Bigelow in litt. Catesb. car. 2. t. 19. 

 Park. par. 599. t. 597. f. 6. Flowers white. Fruit globose. 

 Wood beautifully veined with black and white. The tree retains 

 its foliage late in autumn. 



Virginian Bird-cherry. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1 724. Tree 

 20 to 80 feet. 



34 C. CANADE'NSIS (Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 3.) leaves 

 without glands, broad-lanceolate, wrinkled, pubescent on both 

 surfaces, and green, drawn down into the petiole. Tj . H. Na- 

 tive of Canada. Prunus Canadensis, Willd. spec. 2. p. 986 



Pluk. aim. t. 158. f. 4. Flowers white. 



Canada Bird-cherry. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1820. Tree 20 to 

 30 feet. 



35 C. MOLLIS (Dougl. mss. Hook. fl. bor. amer. 169.) racemes 

 short, pubescently tomentose, as well as the calyxes ; calycine 

 segments reflexed ; leaves obovate-oblong, crenated, pubescent 

 beneath ; fruit ovate. Ij . H. Native of the north-west coast of 

 America, near the mouth of the Columbia, and on subalpine hills 

 near the source of the river. Like C. pubescens in habit. Young 

 branches dark brown and downy. Flowers white. 



Soft Bird-cherry. Tree 1 2 to 24 feet. 



36 C. EMARGINA'TA (Dougl. mss. Hook. fl. bor. amer. p. 169.) 

 racemes corymbose ; pedicels elongated, glabrous ; calyx gla- 

 brous, with ovate, obtuse, reflexed segments ; leaves oval, den- 



ticulately serrulated, glabrous, acute at the base, and biglan- 

 dular, but obtuse at the apex, and usually emarginate ; fruit glo- 

 bose. Jj . H. Native of north-west America, on the upper 

 part of the Columbia river, especially about the Kettle Falls. 

 Flowers white. Fruit astringent. Wood red spotted with white. 

 Leaves 2 inches long. 



Emarginate-leaveA Bird-cherry. Shrub 4 to 8 feet. 



37 C. CAPO'LLIN (D. C. prod. 2. p. 539.) racemes rather com- 

 pound, lateral, and terminal ; leaves lanceolate, serrated, gla- 

 brous ; fruit globose. Tj . G. Native of Mexico, in cold and 

 temperate places. Prunus Virginiana, Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. 

 icon. ined. Prunus Canadensis, pi. mex. ined. Hern. mex. 95. 

 with a figure. The leaves are about the size and form of those 

 of SAlix fragilis. The fruit is the colour and form of that of 

 C. avium. The bark of this tree is employed in Mexico as a 

 febrifuge. 



Capollin Bird-cherry. Shrub. 



38 C. NIPAULE'NSIS (Ser. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 540.) leaves 

 long, lanceolate, acuminated, bluntly serrated, glabrous, conspi- 

 cuously and reticulately veined beneath, and whitish, pilose in 

 the axils of the nerves ; peduncles short, rather villous, as well 

 as the rachis ; calyx glabrous ; fruit? Tj , H. Native of Nipaul. 

 The leaves are almost the form of those of Salix fragilis. 



Nipaul Bird-cherry. Clt. 1820. Shrub. 



39 C. CAPRICIDA ; leaves elliptic, acuminated, coriaceous, gla- 

 brous, quite entire, with undulately curled margins ; petioles 

 glandless ; racemes either solitary or aggregate by threes, many- 

 flowered, glabrous, shorter than the leaves. Ij . G. Native of 

 Nipaul, at Narainhetty. Prunus capricida, Wall, in litt. Prunus 

 undulata, Hamilt. ex D. Don, prod. p. 239. Cerasus undulata, 

 Ser, in D. C. prod. 2. p. 540. The leaves of this shrub con- 

 tain so large a quantity of prussic-acid as to kill the goats of 

 Nipaul. This shrub is probably evergreen. 



Goat-hilling Bird-cherry. Sh. 



40 C. ELLI'PTICA (Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 4.) leaves 

 elliptic, serrated, bluntish, veiny, glabrous. Tj . H. Native of 

 Japan. Prunus elliptica, Thunb. fl. jap. 199. Drupe oblong, 

 about the size of a small grape. 



Elliptic -\ea.\eOi Bird-cherry. Tree. 



41 C. SEROTINA (Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 3.) racemes 

 loose, at length pendulous ; leaves oval or obovate, acuminated, 

 simply serrated, opaque, shining above, naked on both surfaces, 

 bearded in the axils of the veins beneath ; petioles biglandular ; 

 fruit dark purple, globose. Tj . H. Native of North America, 

 in Canada and Newfoundland. Prunus serotina, Willd. arbr. 

 239. t. 5. f. 2. Prunus Virginiana, Mill. diet. no. 2. Leaves 

 rather coriaceous, shining, the floral ones very narrow at the 

 base. Flowers white. This is the Tarvquoy-meen-ahtik of the 

 Cree Indians. Its fruit is termed Tawqany-mena or Choke- 

 cherry ; it is not very edible in a fresh state, but when dried 

 and bruised it forms an esteemed addition to pemmican. Dr. 

 Richardson says it is the C. Virginiana. 



Var. /3, retusa (Ser. mss. in D. C. prod. 2. p. 540.) leaves 

 roundish, obovate, rather villous beneath, very blunt, and rather 

 retuse at the apex ; the middle nerve pilose on both sides. fj . S. 

 Native of South America. 



Late Bird-cherry, or Choke-cherry. Fl. May, June. Clt. 

 1629. Tree 20 feet. 



2. Laurocerasus (laurus, the laurel, and cerasus, the cherry ; 

 the trees are cherries in fruit but laurels in the leaves). Leaves 

 coriaceous, permanent, evergreen. 



42 C. OCCIDENTALS (Lois, in Duham. ed. nov. 5. p. 4.) ra- 

 cemes lateral ; leaves glandless, oblong, acuminated, quite en- 

 tire, glabrous on both surfaces. Ij . S. Native of the West 



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