THE COMMON OK CHERRY LAUREL 51 



by Benthara and Hooker. The genus Prunus is 

 characterised by its fruit being a " drupe " a suc- 

 culent fruit, formed from one carpel, with a strong 

 inner layer, or " endocarp," and containing two 

 pendulous ovules, only one of which commonly 

 matures into a seed. The calyx falls off with the 

 petals. The Cherry Laurel differs from the Plums, 

 and agrees with the Cherries, in the absence of 

 " bloom " from the surface of the fruit ; but, together 

 with the Bird-cherry (P. Pa'dus L.) and the Portugal 

 Laurel (P. lusita'nica L), it constitutes a distinct 

 sub-genus (Laurocerasus), characterised by having 

 " conduplicate " leaves and " racemes " of flowers, 

 which appear after the leaves, whilst the rest of 

 the genus have their flowers either solitary or in 

 " fascicles." A " fascicle " is a tuft of flowers whose 

 stalks spring nearly from one point, whilst a " raceme " 

 has an elongated main stalk or peduncle, giving off 

 successive lateral " pedicels " or flower-stalks. 



The Cherry Laurel is exceptional among its con- 

 geners in having green shoots, and the yellowish- 

 green tint of its leathery evergreen leaves is also 

 characteristic. They somewhat resemble those of 

 the Orange or of the Magnolia. They are " ovate- 

 lanceolate " in outline, are provided with a few scat- 

 tered teeth along their margins, and (like those of 

 many allied " drupaceous " or " stone-fruit " trees) 

 have from two to four glands on their under sur- 

 faces. The " racemes " are shorter than the leaves, 

 and the fruits are " ovate-acute " in outline. 



The species is one of rapid growth, increasing from 

 one foot to three feet in height in a single year ; but 



