PRUXUS 



PRUNUS 



2843 



beneath, with 1 or 2 large glands near base of 

 blade or at apex of the petiole (which is %-%in. long) : 

 fls. appearing on the ends of leafless shoots, white, 

 long-stalked, less than y$&. across, the racemes 2-3 in. 

 long and dense (1-1 J-2 in. long). Amurland, Manchuria. 



cc. Peduncle bearing Irs. 



72. virginiana. Linn. (Cerasus virginiana, Loisel. 

 Primus nana, Du Roi. Padus nana, Roem.). CHOKE 

 CHERRY. Fig. 3243. Bush or sometimes a small tree 

 30 ft. tall, with rough speckled bark and a strong odor 

 when bruised: Ivs. thin, oval-oblong or obovate, 

 abruptly pointed, very sharply serrate, with spreading 

 or at least not incurved teeth : fls. in short, dense racemes 

 in spring with the Ivs.: fr. size of pea, in summer, red 

 or amber-colored (the latter var. leucocarpa, Wats.), 

 puckery; stone smooth. Generally distributed over 

 X. X. Amer. to the Arctic Circle and occurring in the 

 mountains of Mex. S.S. 4 : 158. Now and then a large- 

 fruited variety is found fit for eating. Sometimes 

 planted for ornament. There is a weeping form, var. 



3243. Primus virginiana 

 (XJi). No. 72. 



pendula, Hort.; a 

 dwarf form, var. nana, 

 Hort.; a narrow-lvd. 

 form, var. salicifolia, 

 Hort. Other more or 

 less distinct forms 

 may be distinguished. 

 Recently the name 

 P. nana, Du Roi, has 

 been used for this 

 species, and P. vir- 

 giniana has been 

 made to supplant the 



name P. serotina (Xo. 70). Linnaeus had two 

 plants under P. virginiana in Species Planfr- 

 arum. The synonyms cited by him clearly 

 designate P. "serotina (the black cherry), except one, 

 which is an Itea; but his original description, to which 

 he gave the name P. virginiana and which is based on 

 material preserved in his herbarium, is of the choke 

 cherry; and there seems to be no occasion to change 

 the names of these well-known plants. 



73. demissa, Walp. (P. virginiana var. demissa, Torr. 

 Cerasus demissa, Xutt.). Lvs. more rounded than in P. 

 virginiana or even subcordate, thicker, pubescent, ser- 

 rate with straight teeth, the petioles glandular: fr. 

 red, large, and edible. Wash., Ore., Calif ., and probably 

 eastward. Considered by many to be worthy of 

 improvement as a fruit-plant. 



Var. melanocarpa, Xels. (P. melanocdrpa, Shafer), 

 has smooth Ivs. and fr. nearly black when mature 

 and more astringent: shrub or small tree: Ivs. smooth 

 or nearly so on both surfaces, the small serratures 

 incurved or appressed, the petioles glandless: fls. white, 

 in erect or ascending compact racemes. Rocky Mt. 

 region and probably westward. 



74. Padus, Linn. (P. racemdsa, Lam. Pddus 

 racemosa, Schneid. Padus vulgaris, Borkh. Cerasus 

 Pddus, DC.). EUROPEAN BIRD CHERRY. Very like P. 

 virginiana, but has larger fls. on longer pedicels, in 

 longer and looser often drooping somewhat leafy 

 racemes: Ivs. elliptic to oblong-ovate to oval, broad at 

 base, abruptly acuminate, very sharply serrate, gla- 

 brous, the petiole gland-bearing at apex: fls. appearing 



a week later; petals }^-^in. long and twice exceeding 

 the stamens: stone rough. Eu. and Asia. Gn. 53, p. 92. 

 G.M. 44:209. G. 20:601; 27: 269. T -Common in cult, 

 in many forms: Var. pendula, Dipp., drooping; var. 

 variegata, Hort., in several forms, as a urea, aucubx- 

 folia, marmorata, Alberti. Var. leucocarpa, Koch, has 

 white or yellowish Ivs. .Var. bractedsa, Ser., has very 

 large Ivs. at the base of the racemes. Var. commutata, 

 Dipp. (P. Grayana, Hort., not Maxim.), is noteworthy 

 because it is one of the earliest of all trees to leaf out in 

 spring. G.F. 1:295. Var. plena, Hort., is a double-fld. 

 form. Variable in its foliage. Makes a shapely tree 

 10-20 ft. tall. Var. cornuta, Henry (P. cornuta, Steud.), 

 of the Himalayas, has Ivs. rounded at base and bluish 

 green beneath with reddish hairs in the axils of the 

 veins: pedicels and long racemes pubescent: fr. %in. 

 or less diam., the stone smooth. P. Laucheana, Bolle, 

 is a hybrid of this and P. virginiana. 



75. Grayana, Maxim. (P. Padus v&r.japonica, Miq.), 

 is allied to P. Padus. A small tree, 20-30 ft. high, with 

 a slender trunk, ample membranaceous long-pointed 

 setaceo-serrate Ivs., biglandular at the base but with- 

 out glands on the petioles, a peculiarity which best dis- 

 tinguishes this species, although the hair-like teeth of 

 the Ivs. are characteristic and apparently constant: 

 style iong rather than short as in P. Padus. Japan. 



76. Ssidri, Schmidt (Padus Ssiori, Schneid.). 

 Smaller-fld. than P. Padus, with a smooth or only 

 obscurely roughened stone: Ivs. ovate, long-acuminate, 

 strongly serrate with narrow teeth, not papillose 

 beneath; petiole J^-1H in. long, with usually 2 or more 

 glands at apex: raceme 4-7 in. long, glabrous; petals 

 white, about \im. long, equaling the stamens. Man- 

 churia, Saghalin, Japan. 



AA. Laurocerasus: IDS. persistent (evergreen): fls. in 

 spring in the axUs of the Ics. of the previous year. 

 (Cherry-laurels.) 



B. Racemes longer than the Ivs. 



77. lusitinica, Linn. (Padus lusitdnica, Mill. Lauro- 

 cerasus lusitdnica, Roem.). PORTUGAL LAUREL. Tree, 

 20 ft. tall, but usually grown as a tub-plant and com- 

 parable with Laurus nobUis: Ivs. thick and leathery, 

 ovate-lanceolate to long-lanceolate, sharp-serrate: fls. 

 white, in racemes that exceed the Ivs., appearing in late 

 spring or early summer: fr. round-oval, nearly black. 

 small. Spain, Portugal, and Canary Isls. It is a small 

 tree in its native places, but becomes a bush farther 

 north. It is sometimes planted in the open in our 

 southern states, but in northern parts it is wintered 

 inside. There is a form (var. angustifdlia, Hort.) with 

 narrow Ivs., another (var. myrtifdlia, Xichols.) with 

 small Ivs. and compact habit, and another (var. 

 afcreo-variegata, Hort.) with yellow-variegated Ivs., 

 and one (var. variegata, Xichols.) with Ivs. variegated 

 white. Var. azdrica, Xichols., is a free grower with red 

 sts. : Ivs. more coriaceous and more coarsely serrate than 

 the type: racemes short and densely fld. : shrubby. 

 Azores. G. 30:123. Var. Hiza, DC. Lvs. narrower 

 and more oblong than in the type, about 5 in. long: 

 racemes 6-8 in. long, the fls. less crowded. Madeira 

 and Canary Isls. 



BB. Racemes not longer than the Ivs. 

 c. Calyx-lobes toothed or undulate. 



78. Laurocerasus, Linn. (Cerasus Laurocerasus, 

 Loisel. Padus Laurocerasus, Mill. Laurocerasus offici- 

 ndlis, Roem.). CHERRY-LAUREL. ENGLISH LAUREL. 

 Bush or small tree (reaching 10 ft.) with handsome 

 evergreen foliage: Ivs. coriaceous and glossy, short- 

 stalked, oval, lanceolate, oblong-elliptic or oblanceo- 

 late, narrowed into a short point, remotely serrulate, 

 with 2^4 glaads at the base of the blade: fls. small, 

 white, in axillary or terminal short racemes in spring, 

 the calyx-lobes 3-toothed: fr. ovoid-acute, small, black- 

 ish. S. E. Eu. to X. Persia. Gn. 50, p. 313. One of 



