270 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICF.TUM BRJTANNICUM 



498. 

 3789 , Lois, in A'. Du 



Sj)ec. Char., fyc. Leaves ovate acuminate, of the form of those of the beech. 



The petioles long and glandless. Fruit small. A native of mountainous 



districts in the most remote parts of Siberia. Persoon has stated that it 



varies with leaves linear-lanceolate. (Dec. Prod.) A low tree, having the 



general appearance of the common apricot, but smaller in all its parts. 



Dahuria, on mountains, growing upon the face of perpendicular rocks ex- 



posed to the sun. Height 6 ft. to 8 ft. ; in England 8 ft. to 20 ft. Intro- 



duced in 1788. Flowers rose-coloured ; May. Drupe?. 



This tree, on the mountains of Dahuria, does not attain a greater height 



than that of a man ; but it has a trunk the thickness of the wrist, a rough and 



black bark, and hard wood. It flowers about the same time as the Rhodo- 



dendron dauricum ; growing on the south sides of the mountains, while the 



latter grows on the north sides. When both these plants are in flower, 



Pallas observes, the north sides of the mountains appear of a purple colour, 



and the south of a rose colour. (FL. Ross., i. p. 13.) In British gardens, the 



Siberian apricot forms a tree of nearly the same height as the common apricot, 



of which it appears to us to be the wild form. 



* 4. A. (v.) BRIGANTI^ACA Pers. The Brianyon Apricot Tree. 



Identification. Pers. Syn., 2. p. 36. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 532. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 

 Synonyme. Prunus brigantiaca Fill. Dauph. 3. p. 535., Dec. Fl. Fr. No. 3 



Ham. 5. p. 185. 

 Engravings. N. Du Ham., 5. t. 59. ; and our fig. 436. 



Spec. Charge. Leaves nearly heart-shaped, toothed 

 with numerous sharp subimbricate teeth. Flowers 

 in groups, almost sessile, scarcely protruded before 

 the leaves. (Dec. Prorf.) A low tree. Dau- 

 phine, in only one locality, and in another in 

 Piedmont, where an oil, called huile de marmotte, 

 has for a long time been expressed from the 

 seeds. Height in British gardens 14ft. to 15ft. 

 in 10 or 12 years; in its native habitats, 6ft. to 

 8 ft. Introduced in 1819. Flowers white or pink ; 

 March and April. Drupe ?. 



Seringe suggested that this kind may be the same 

 as A. sibirica, and we think it not unlikely to be only 

 another variety of the common apricot in its wild 

 state, with toothed leaves. 



Other Species of Armenmca. A. pedunculata Led. has been raised in the 

 Hort. Soc. Garden, from seeds received under this name from Dr. Ledebour. 



GENUS IV. 



PRIPNUS Tourn. THE PLUM. Lin. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. 



Identification. Tourn. Inst., t. 358. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 532. ; Don's Mill., 2. 498. 

 Synonymes. Prunophora Neck. Elem. No. 7J9. ; Prunus sp. of Lin. and others ; Pruno, Hal. 

 Derivation. Said to be a word of Asiatic origin ; the wild plant, according to Galen, being called 

 proumnos in Asia. The Greek name for the plum is proune : it occurs in Theophrastus. 



Gen. Char. Drupe ovate or oblong, fleshy, quite glabrous, covered with a 

 glaucous bloom ; containing a compressed nut or putamen. which is acute at 

 both ends, and a little furrowed on the margin, the rest smooth. (Don's Mill.) 

 Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; convolute when young. 

 Flowers usually disposed in umbellate fascicles, solitary on the pedicels, rising 

 generally before the leaves. Trees or shrubs ; natives of Europe, Asia, and 

 North America. 



