108 DICTIONARY OF POPULAR NAMES CHERRY 



are pounded ; the latter contains prussic acid, which gives 

 flavour to the liqueurs. Cherry tree wood is highly valued by 

 cabinet and musical instrument makers. 



Cherry, Australian {Exocarjpus cupressiformis), a small tree 

 of the Sandal- wood family (Santalaceae). It has numerous 

 green, wiry, rigid or filiform, apparently leafless branches 

 collected in a dense conical head, and the leaves reduced to 

 minute alternate scales. It is found in Queensland, iSTew South 

 Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and South and West Australia. The 

 wood is hard, and valuable for gun-stocks, axe-handles, etc. 



Cherry, Barbadoes. — Mal'pighia glahra and M. imnicifolia, 

 two small trees of the Malpighiad family (Malpighiaceae), 

 natives of the West Indies and many parts of tropical America. 

 They are favourite trees with the natives, who plant them near 

 their dwellings as hedges, and also for the sake of the fruit, 

 which is about the size and appearance of a cherry. The 

 common name is derived from the fact of the plants being found 

 originally in Barbadoes. 



Cherry, Bird {Cerasus Fadus), a deciduous shrub or small 

 tree of the Plum family (DrupacCce). When grown with a 

 single stem it often attains a height of 20 to 30 feet. It 

 is a native of this country, and widely spread throughout 

 Europe and the temperate regions of ISTorth-West Asia. The 

 fruit is small, black, and not palatable ; it is used by some for 

 flavouring brandy and home-made wines. In Sweden, Lapland, 

 and some parts of Eussia, the bruised fruit is fermented, and 

 yields a strong kind of spirit. The wood is hard and yellow, 

 and has a disagreeable odour ; it is highly valued by cabinet- 

 makers. The Bird Cherry is represented in America by C. 

 virginiana, G. caroliniana, and others, which are grown in 

 shrubberies in this country. 



Cherry Laurel {Cerasus Laurocerasus), an evergreen shrub of 

 the Plum family (Drupaccce), native of Armenia and countries 

 bordering on the Black Sea. Introduced and cultivated in this 

 country. Every part of the Cherry Laurel contains prussic acid ; 

 its leaves are used to give the peculiar flavour of that acid to 



