460 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



p. dasycarpa Ehrh. black apricot. 



Orient. This apricot with dark purple, velvety fruit is cultivated in Kashmir, 

 Afghanistan, Baluchistan and in Europe.' 



P. divaricata Ledeb. 



Turkestan. The fruits are red, yellow and black and of the size, form and taste of 

 the Mirabelle plum. According to Capus, the natives collect and dry the iixdt but do not 

 cultivate the tree.^ 



P. domestica Linn. European plum. plum. 



Europe and the Caucasus. The common pltmi came originally, says Unger,' from 

 the Caucasus and is ctdtivated extensively in Syria, where it has passed into numerous 

 varieties. It is now naturalized in Greece and in other regions of temperate Europe. 

 Cultivated varieties, according to Pliny, were brought from Syria into Greece and thence 

 into Italy. Faulken * says the plimi was introduced from Asia into Europe during the 

 crusades. Gough ' says the Perdrigon plum was brought into England in the time of 

 Henry VII. Plum stones were among the seeds mentioned in the Memorandum of Mar. 

 16, 1629, to be sent to the Massachusetts Company. The fruit of the plimi ranges through 

 many colors, from black to white, and is covered with a rich, glaucous bloom About 

 150 varieties appear in the catalogs of American nurserymen.' The plum is not only 

 delicious eating, in its best varieties, but the frtiit of some is largely used for prunes, 

 and, in Htmgary, an excellent brandy is distilled from the fermented juice of the 

 fruit. 



P. emarginata Walp. oregon cherry. 



Western North America. The fruit is eaten by the Indians.' 



P. fasciculata A. Gray, wild almond, wild peach. 



Western North America. Although this fruit is almost devoid of the delicious interior 

 of the cultivated peach, yet it has exactly the appearance and Gray says is its nearest 

 North American relative. 



P. gracilis Engelm. & Gray, prairie cherry. 



Texas and Indian Territory. This species is cultivated by the pioneers. 



P. ilicifolia Walp. evergreen cherry, islay. mountain holly, wild cherry. 



An evergreen of southern California. The fruit of this Prunus is yellowish-pink 

 when ripe, with a pulpy external portion scarcely exceeding a line in thickness. Though 

 the fruit has a pleasant taste. Parry says it would scarcely be considered worth eating 

 in a country which was less destitute of wild fruits. 



' Brandis, D. Forest Fl. 192. 1874. 



'Card. Chrcn. 22:377. 1884. 



Unger U. S. Pat. Off. Rpl. 340. 1859. 



* U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 287. 1853. 



' Ibid. 



Wood, A. Class Book Bot. 328. 1864. 



' Brown, R. Bol. Soc. Edinb. 9:383. 1868. 



