PRUXUS 



PRUXUS 



2831 



Var. tarda, Wight (P. tdrda, Sarg.). Tree, 18-20 ft., 

 distinguished from P. umbellate by lighter-colored bark, 

 later-ripening fr., and more oblong stone. W. Miss, to 

 Texas and S. Ark., the nearly globular, yellow, red, 

 purple, or blue fr. (about Hin- diam.) ripening in Oct. 

 and Nov. 



2.5. maritima, Marsh. (P. pygmxa and P. sphjsrica, 

 Willd. P. sph&rocdrpa, and P. acuminata, Michx. 





3225. Prunus alleghaniensis (XH)- No. 23. 



P. pubescens. Pursh. P. littoralit, Bigel. P. pubigera, 

 Steud.). BEACH PLUM. SHORE PLUM. Fig. 3226. 

 Decumbent straggling more or less thorny bush with 

 rough and warty branches and slightly pubescent 

 young growth: Ivs. oval or obovate-oval, short-acute or 

 nearly obtuse, closely serrate, dull green, often some- 

 what pubescent beneath: fls. small, white, slender- 

 stalked, borne in few-fld. umbels preceding the Ivs. : fr. 

 about J4in. diam., depressed-globular (somewhat flat- 

 tened at the ends), with a slight cavity about the St., 

 mostly deep dull purple when ripe and covered with a 

 heavy bloom, the flesh brittle and mostly sweet and 

 juicy and free from the small turgid cherry-like stone 

 (which is pointed at both ends), the skin thick, tough, 

 and more or less acrid. Sands of the seashore, New 

 Bruns. to Va.. and also some miles inland; its reported 

 occurrence at the head of Lake Michigan has not been 

 verified. B.M. 8289. Gng. 4:257 (bush in bloom). 

 The main sts. are decumbent, and strong shoots stand 

 upright to a height of 2-6 ft., or sometimes even 10-12 

 ft. P. maritima is a handsome plant in cult, because of 

 the great profusion of its early spring bloom, and the 

 frs.. when produced, are also ornamental. As a fr.- 

 plant, it is known in the variety Bassett American, 

 which, however, has never become popular because of 

 its small size. The species is very variable, and no 

 doubt several botanical varieties could be distinguished. 

 Yellow-fruited forms are known (forma flava, G. S. 

 Torr.). A species related to P. maritima, but not in the 

 trade, is P. Gravesii, Small, with orbicular very obtuse 

 and often apiculate Ivs. and stone pointed only at base. 

 Known only from the original locality at Groto'n, Conn., 

 near Long Island Sound, an unarmed bush about 3 ft. 

 high, with a dark rather rough bark and usually 

 puberulent twigs. 



26. gracilis, Engelm. & Gray. OKLAHOMA PLUM. 

 A straggling shrub, closely allied to P. maritima, in 

 clumps or thickets, 1-4 ft. high, with grayish bark and 

 reddish brown pubescent young twigs: Ivs. oval or 

 ovate, rarely ovate-lanceolate, 1-2 in. long, narrowed 

 either way but sometimes obtusish at apex, finely but 

 lightly pubescent above, strongly pubescent beneath, 

 finely serrate; petiole glandless or with 1 or 2 glands 

 near apex: fls. preceding the Ivs., white, % to nearly 

 Hin- broad, on pubescent pedicels; calyx-lobes ovate 

 and acute, entire or denticulate, glandless: fr. globular 

 or ovoid, J^-^in. diam., mostly red and with light 



bloom; pit or stone oval, somewhat obtuse at the ends, 

 the surface nearly smooth. W. Ark., Okla. and N. 

 Texas, in dry sandy places. This species appears to 

 have yielded no named pomological varieties, although 

 the fr. is sometimes collected from the wild for market. 

 P. venulosa, Sarg., is a larger shrub, forming denser 

 thickets, with larger and more coarsely serrate Ivs. and 

 glabrous pedicels. It is from N. Texas, but whether a 

 good native species or a hybrid of P. gracilis and 

 P. Reverchonii is undetermined; of no horticultural 

 promise. 



Subgenus II. AMYGDALUS. Almonds and Peaches. 



Fr. sessile, large, mostly pubescent: fls. solitary from 

 lateral buds on the previous year's growth, appear- 

 ing in advance of the Ivs., the latter conduplicate in 

 the bud. 



A. Plant low and bushy as seen in cult.: flowering almonds. 



27. trfloba, Lindl. (Amygdalus pedunculata, Bunge. 

 'Amygdaldpsis lAndleyi, Carr. Prunopsis Llndleyi, 

 Andre. Prunus vlmifolia, Franch.). FLOWERING 

 ALMOND. (See Nos. 39, 40.) Fig. 3227. Lvs. broadly 

 ovate or obovate, usually broadest above the middle, soft- 

 hairy, abruptly pointed, coarsely doubly serrate, tending 

 to be 3-lobed above: fls. solitary, shoft-pedicelled, and 

 mostly in advance of the Ivs., clear pink, sometimes 

 white, usually double (var. plena, Hort. * Fig. 3234); 

 calyx-tube hairy inside between stamens, the sepals 

 pilose or glabrous on outside; sepals and petals (in single 

 fls.) 5-10: fr. small, red-hairy when young, but becoming 

 glabrous. China. B.M. 8061. I.H. 8:308. F.S.15: 1532. 

 R.H. 1862:91; 1870, p. 388 (fr.); 1883, p. 367 (fr.); 

 1884:396; 1907, pp. 154, 155. Gn. 21, p. 275; 28:346; 

 55, p. 374; 59, p. 135; 79, p. 17. G.M. 44:210; 52: 

 247. G. 26:462; 33:19. H.F. II. 7:139. Gng. 5:165; 

 6:289; 8:196. A most desirable bush, hardy in Cent. 

 N. Y. and Ont. It is a good subject for blooming in 

 pots. It is sometimes grown as a standard worked on 

 plum, but it is then short-lived; better results are 

 to be expected from own-rooted plants (by layering 

 or root-grafting). Sometimes it rises to the stature of a 

 small tree. The double-fld. form (var. plena) is the one 

 commonly seen in grounds, but the single-fld. form is 

 the better. A sport producing several pistils has been 

 recorded (Amygdalopsis). Xot to be confounded with 

 the forms of P. japonica and P. glandulosa, which have 

 smaller and rela- 

 tively longer- 

 stalked fls. and usu- 

 ally more than 1 

 from the bud, and 

 different Ivs. 



Var. Petzoldii, 

 Bailey (P. Pet- 

 zoldii, Koch. P. 

 virgata, Hort.). 

 Branchlets and 

 adult foliage gla- 

 brous: Ivs. ovate or 

 elliptic, usually at 

 or below the mid- 

 dle, not 3-lobed, 

 gradually nar- 

 rowed or acumi- 

 nate above, gla- 

 brous, with narrow 

 sharp teeth: fls. 

 smaller than in P. 

 triloba and with 

 shorter pedicel, 

 rose-colored ; calyx- 

 tube glabrous in- 

 side as are the lobes 

 or sepals on the 



(XJi) 



