1 536 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



Varieties and Hybrid 



I. In the wild and typical form of the species, the fruit is small, with little 

 edible flesh. The cultivated cherries ' with larger and more edible fruit derived from 

 P. Avium comprise two main varieties : 



1. Var. Juliana. Heart or Gean Cherries. Fruit mostly black, with soft flesh. 



2. Var. duracina. Bigarreau Cherries. Fruit mostly yellow or red, with 

 firm flesh. 



The Duke Cherries, with acid flesh, are referred to P. Avium as var. regalis by 

 Bailey.* 



II. The following varieties, cultivated for ornament, are peculiar in leaves, 

 flowers, or habit. 



3. Var. decumana, Koch, Dendrologie, i. 106 (1869). Leaves very large, 

 occasionally as much as 10 to 12 in. in length, and 4 to 6 in. in breadth. 



4. Var. aspleniifolia, Kirchner, Arb. Muse. 254 (1864). Leaves with deeply 

 incised teeth. 



5. Var. salicifolia, Dippel, Laubholzkunde, iii. 615 (1893). Leaves very narrow. 



6. Var. flore pleno, Kirchner, loc. cit. Flowers partially or completely double. 



7. Pendulous and pyramidal forms are also known. 



III. The following, which is in all probability a hybrid between P. Avium and 

 P. Mahaleb is occasionally cultivated : 



8. Prunus Fontanesiana, Schneider, Laubholzkunde, i. 617 (1906). 



Prunus graca, Desfontaines, ex Koch, Dendrologie, i. 109 (1869). 

 Cerasus Fontanesiana, Spach, Hist. Ve"g. i. 410 (1834). 



A tree, resembling P. Avium in habit. Young branchlets covered with dense 

 whitish erect pubescence. Leaves about 4 in. long, 2 in. broad, similar in shape and 

 size to those of P. Avium, but differing in the more crenate serrations, which are tipped 

 with sharp minute glands, as in P. Mahaleb ; glabrous above ; pale green beneath 

 with long pubescence on each side of the midrib ; petiole pubescent, with one or 

 two large glands. Flowers about in. across. 



This tree, the origin of which is unknown, is remarkable for never producing 

 fruit. A specimen at Kew is about 25 ft. high. 



Distribution 



P. Avium is widely distributed throughout nearly the whole of Europe, but 

 appears to be rare in Spain and Italy as a wild tree ; and in Russia, 8 is confined 

 to the south-western provinces and the Crimea. It also occurs in Asia Minor and 

 the Caucasus. It extends as far north as the province of Bergen in Norway, where 

 Schiibeler mentions a pure wood of considerable extent at Urnas ; and its remains 

 have been found in peat-mosses in Sweden.* 



1 An excellent account of the cultivated cherries was given by R. Thompson in Trans, Hort. Soc, Second Series, i. 248- 

 294 (1835). 2 Cycl. Amur. Hort. 1453 (1901). 



s Koppen, Hohgewiichse Eur. Russlands, i. 280 (1888). 4 Willkomm, Forstliche Flora, 899, note (1887). 



