Handbook of Tkees of the Northern States and Canada. 273 



The Wild Goose Plum attains the heij,'ht of 

 20 or 30 ft. with broad rounded top of rigid 

 branches and trunk sometimes 10 or 12 in. in 

 diameter. In localities it is found as a tall 

 shrub forming thickets of considerable extent. 

 It inhabits the low banks and islands of streams 

 subject to annual inundation (for wiiich rea- 

 son it is sometimes called River Plum) in 

 company with the Sycamore, River Birch, vari- 

 ous Willows, Green Ash. Box-Elder, King-nut 

 Hickory, Red-bud, etc. it is said that it takes 

 its common name from tlie fact that one of 

 the first noticed trees was grown from a stone 

 taken from the crop of a wild goose. 



General orchard varieties are in cultivation, 

 producing fruit of excellent quality. Among 

 them are the Miner, Langston, Clinton, etc. (of 

 var. Mineri) and the Wayland, Golden Beauty, 

 Moremnn, etc. (of var. Wai/landi). 



The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and suitable 

 for use in turnery. 



Leaves ovate-lanceolate to ovate, wedge-shaped 

 or rounded at base, long taper-pointed, closely 

 glandular-serrate, pilose at first but at maturity 

 glabrous, lustrous dark green above, paler and 

 pilose in the axils of the prominent veins bf^- 

 neath ; petioles with dark glands near the leaf- 

 blade. Flowers when the leaves are about half 

 grown, 1 in. or less across, in 2-4-flowered puber- 

 ulous umbels ; calyx with acute or rounded 

 glandular-serrate lobes, pubescent both sides ; 

 petals white, rounded. Fruit subglobose or short- 

 oblong, 1 in. or less in diameter, with thick 

 tough red or yellow skin of pleasant flavor and 

 with turgid stone prominently ridged on the ven- 

 tral edge and grooved on the dorsal. 



