Handbook of Trees of the jSTokthekn States and Ca 



283 



Tliis is one of tho most valunhlo troos of tlie 

 American forests, sometimes attniiiiii^r tlie 

 lieiyht of 80-100 ft., with stiai.^lit columnar 

 sealy-harked trunk ;!-.-> ft. in tliiektic-s. When 

 isolated it develojjs an oblong or rounded top 

 of slender rigid branches, and growing alike on 

 dry gravelly slopes and moist intervales it is 

 one of the chief elements of many tracts of 

 forests of the Appalachian regions. Its llowers 

 appear later than those of otlier re|)reseiita- 

 (ives of the geiuis (hence tlie specilic name, 

 from a Latin word meaning late) and when 

 its leafy top is trimmed with its many nod- 

 ding racemes of small wliite Ihiwers it is a 

 highly ornamental tree. Its fruit, when fully 

 ripe is of pleasant vinous flavor and is often 

 used in making rum, and the aromatic bark 

 is valued as a flavoring, as a tonic and sedative 

 medicine. 



The wood of wliich a cubic foot weighs 30.28 



lbs. is strong, ratlier hard and very close 



grained and one of our most valuable woods 



for furniture making and interior finishing.^ 



Leaves oval or oblona: to lanco-obovate. 2-.^) in. 

 long, tapering or rounded at base, taper-pointed, 

 serrate with incurved teeth, glabrous, thick 

 lustrous dark green above, paler beneath, with 

 slender petioles bearing red glands. Floirrrs 

 opening when the leaves are nearly grown, 14 in. 

 across in erect or nodding racemes 4-6 in. long, 

 terminating short leaf.v lirancblets ; calyx with 

 short lobes, persistent : petals obovate. Fruit sob- 

 globose and somewhat lobed, %-V^ in. in di- 

 ameter, reddish black with juicy purple flesh of 

 vinous flavor and stone about Vi in. long pointed 

 at apex. 



1. A. W., II, 29. 



