52 



FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



Chickasaw Plum. 



Prunus Chicasa. 

 Prunus 



angustifolia. 



has a pleasant taste, although the skin is very tough 

 and acid. The leaves are large, double-toothed, 

 coarsely veined, and smooth without a gloss. The 

 tree is common in woodlands and on river banks 

 from west New England to Minnesota.* 



The Chickasaw plum 

 has a long, lance- 

 shaped, but broad 

 leaf, with very fine 

 teeth, a shining green surface, and a 

 red stem. The fruit is one half to two 

 thirds of an inch in diameter, globular, 

 thin-skinned, of a lustrous reddish color, 

 with a slight bloom, and is pleasantly fla- 

 vored ; it usually ripens in early summer. 

 The tree is small, its average height be- 

 ing between 15 and 20 feet; rarely it 

 attains 25 feet. It grows wild in Dela- 

 ware, and extends westward and southward to Kan- 

 sas, Texas, and Florida. It is widely cultivated. 



«r-,, ■« «v The leaf of the wild red cherry, gen- 



Wild Eed Cherry, . . 



or Bird Cherry, erally called bird cherry, is similar in 

 Prunus shape to that of the Chickasaw plum, 



Pennsylvanica. ,..,,... -.. ., • . • 



but its distinct peculiarity is a certain 

 graceful, wavy outline, and a shining light green, 



* The range of the Canada plum has been greatly extended 

 through cultivation. 



Chickasaw 

 Plum. 



