148 ROSACE.E. (rose FAMILY.) 



convolute in the hud, the fruit with a bloom ; its stone oblong, flattened or flatfish 

 and acutf. at hutli ends : hut our wild Plums are like Ciikkries in liuvlncj the 

 leiives /hided hffure exjicnision, little or i.o hloom, and some of tlitm in the thicker 

 or (jlubular stone, thus confounding the disliuctions. 



1. P. Americana, Marshall. (Wild Ykllow or Red Plum.) Leaves 

 ovule or suine\vh;U oljovate, cons/)iciiousli/ j>ointed, coarscli/ or douhlij serrate, very 

 veiny, qlahrous whi:n mature ; fruit nearly destitute of bloom, roundish-oval, yel- 

 low, orange, or red, j'-i' in diameter, with the turgid stone more or less acute 

 on l)Oth margins, or in cultivated states 1' or more in diameter, the flattened 

 stone with broader margins : plea^iant-tastcd, but with a tough and acerb skin. 

 — Woodlands and river-banks : common. — Tree thorny, 8° -20° high. 



2. P. maritima, Wang. (Beach Plum.) Low and straggling (2°- 

 5°); leaves ovate or ovul, finely serrate, softly pubescent underneath; pedicels short, 

 pubescent; fruit globular, purple or crimson with a bloom {h' - 1' in diameter) ; 

 the stone very turgid, acute on one edge, rounded and minutely grooved on the 

 other. (P. littoralis, Bigiluw.) — Varies, when at some distance from the coast, 

 with the leaves smoother and thinner, and the fruit smaller. (P. pygmia, 

 Willd.) — Sea-beach and the vicinity, Maine to Virginia; the variety. New 

 Jersey and soutlnvard. 



.3. P. Chicasa, Michx. (Chick.vsaav Plum.) Stem scarcely thorny 

 (8' -15' high) ; leaves nearly lanceolate, finely serrulate, glabrous; fruit globular, 

 red, nearly destitute of bloom (^'-|'in diameter); the ovoid stone almost as 

 thick as wide, rounded at both sutures, one of them minutely grooved. — Mary- 

 land to Illinois (probably not indigenous) and southwestward. 



4. P. spiNosA, L. (Sloe. Black Thorn.) Branches thorny; leaves 

 ohovate-obhiig or ovate-lanceolate, sharply serrate, at length glabrous ; pedicels gla- 

 brous ; fruit small, globular, black with a bloom, the stone turgid, acute on one 

 edge. — Var. iNsixfxiA (Bullace-Plum.), is less spiny, the pedicels and lower 

 side of the leaves pubescent (P. insititia, L.) — Roadsides and waste places, 

 New England, to Pcnn., >S:c. (Adv. from Ku.) 



5. P. ptimila, L. (Dwarf Cherry.) Smooth, depressed, and trailing 

 (6'- 18' high) ; leaves ohovate-lanceolate, tapering to the base, somewhat toothed near 

 the apex, pale underneath ; flowers 2-4 together; fruit ovoid, dark red, without 

 bloom ; stone ovoid, marginless, of the size of a large pea. — Rocks or sandy 

 banks, Massachusetts northward to Wisconsin, ana .south to Virginia along the 

 mountains. 



6. P. Pennsylv&nica, L. (Wild Red Cherry.) Tj'aves dilong-lanceo- 

 late, pointed, jindy mid shar/ily sn-rate, shining, green and smooth both sides; flowers 

 many in a cluster, on long pedicels; fruit globose, light red, very small, with 

 thin and sour flesh ; stone globular. — Rocky woods : common, especially 

 northward. May. — Tree 20° -30° high, with light red-brown bark. 



§2. PADUS, Mill. (Cherry.) Drupe small, glohosp, without hloom; the stone 

 turgid-orate, marginless : flowers in rcwemes terminating Uafy branches, therefore 

 appearing after the leaves, late in spring. 



7. P. Virginikna, L. (Choke-Cherry.) lycaves ovtd, ohlong,or obovate, 

 abruptly pointed, very sharply (oflen doubly) serrate with slender teeth, thin ; racemes 



