PRUNUS 



PRUNUS 



1455 



1:295. There is a double-fld. form. Variable in its foli- 

 age. Makes a shapely tree 10-20 ft. tall. 



AA. Laurocerasus: Ivs. persistent (evergreen) : fls. in 

 spring in the axils of the Ivs. of the previous 

 year. Laurels. 



B. Racemes longer than the Ivs. 



32. Lusitanica, Linn. PORTUGAL, LAUREL. Tree, 20 

 ft. tall, but usually grown as a tub plant and compara- 



1996. Prunus pendula, the rose-bud cherry (X %). No. 24. 



ble to Laurus nobilis : Ivs. thick and leathery, ovate- 

 lanceolate to long-lanceolate, sharp-serrate: fls.white, in 

 racemes that exceed the Ivs., appearing in late spring 

 or early summer: fr. round-oval, nearly black, small. 

 Spain and Portugal and Canaries. It is a small tree in 

 its native places, but becomes a bush farther north. It 

 is sometimes planted in the open ground in our southern 

 states, but in northern parts it is a tub plant. There 

 is a form with variegated Ivs., another (var. angus- 

 tifdlia, Hort.) with narrow Ivs., and another (var. 

 myrtiidlia, Hort. ) with small Ivs. and compact habit. 



BB. Racemes not longer than the Ivs. 

 c. Calyx-lobes toothed or undulate. 



33. Laurocerasus, Linn. CHERRY LAUREL. ENGLISH 

 LAUREL. Bush or small tree (reaching 10 ft.) with hand- 

 some evergreen foliage: Ivs. coriaceous and glossy, 

 short-stalked, oval, lanceolate, oblong-elliptic or oblan- 

 ceolate, narrowed into a short point, remotely serrulate, 

 with 2-4 glands at the base of the blade: fls. small, 

 white, in axillary or terminal short racemes in spring, 

 the calyx-lobes 3-toothed: fr. ovoid-acute, small, black- 

 ish. Southeastern Europe to N. Persia. Gn. 50, p. 313.-- 

 One of the most popular broad-leaved evergreen plants 

 in Europe, and somewhat planted in the southern states. 

 It is also grown in tubs and used for house decoration. 

 Some of the forms will stand as far north as Washing- 

 ton, and var. Schipkaensis is hardy in central New 

 York. When grown in the open, the Cherry Laurel 

 should be allowed to ripen its wood thoroughly before 

 winter sets in. Protection from severe winds is always 

 desirable. The plant may be propagated by means of 

 long cuttings of ripe wood; also by layers. Named va- 

 rieties are worked on common stocks. The Cherry 

 Laurel is very variable. Some of the horticultural 



92 



forms are as follows: Var. angnstifdlia, Ivs. very long 

 and narrow, and plant hardy as far north as Washing- 

 ton; var. Bertini, with very broad leaves; var. camel - 

 liaefolia, with recurved leaves; var. Caucasica, and var. 

 Colchica, with slender twigs and dark foliage which is 

 gray-green beneath, also hardy; var. Jap6nica, a nar- 

 row-leaved form, like var. angustifolia; var. latifdlia, 

 with broad Ivs., hardy at Washington; var. microphylla, 

 with small, narrow Ivs., only 4-5 in. long; var. rotundi- 

 fdlia, with short-oblong blunt Ivs. Gn. 28, p. 405. Var. 

 Schipkaensis, with small, nearly or completely entire 

 Ivs. dark green above and very light green beneath, 

 hardy in New York; var. variegata, Ivs. marbled or 

 blotched with dull white. 



34. Caroliniana, Ait. WILD ORANGE. MOCK ORANGE 

 of the South. Tree, 20-40 ft.: Ivs. oblong-lanceolate- 

 acuminate, usually entire but sometimes remotely 

 spinose-serrulate. thick, dark green and shining above, 

 the margins usually somewhat revolute: fls. cream- 

 colored, in short rather close racemes, the calyx-lobes 

 with undulate margins : fr. % in. long, oblong-pointed, 

 black and shining. S. Car. to Fla. and Tex. S.S. 4:160. 

 A handsome evergreen, prized for planting in the 

 South. Blooms from Feb. to April. 



co. Calyx-lobes entire. 



35. ilicifdlia, Walp. ISLAY. SPANISH WILD CHERRY. 

 MOUNTAIN EVERGREEN CHERRY. Fig. 2001. Evergreen 

 bush or small tree, rarely becoming 30 ft. tall, with a 

 dense crown: Ivs. holly-like, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 

 obtuse, acute or sometimes even acuminate, mostly 

 broad and sometimes rounded at the base, the margins 

 coarsely spiny -toothed, the blade thick and shining: 

 fls. white, in slender racemes less than 2 in. long in 

 spring, about % in. across : fr. rather large ( sometimes 

 % in. long), nearly globose, purple or nearly black; 

 stone ovate. San Francisco to Lower Calif. Gn. 3, p. 

 131. S.S. 4:162. G.F. 5:475 (tree). -A most worthy 

 garden plant. 



Var. integrifdlia, Sudw. (P. occidentd Us, Hort., not 

 Swartz). CATALINA CHERRY. Lvs. longer and more 

 acuminate, usually entire: fr. larger. Islands off the 

 coast of southern California and rarely on the mainland. 

 S.S. 4:163. Considered to be more desirable as a gar- 

 den plant than the type. It grows rapidly under culti- 

 vation, making a compact, very dark green crown. 

 Useful also in pots and tubs. P. occidentalism Swartz, 

 a different plant, grows from Cuba to Trinidad. It is 

 not in the trade, although it is mentioned in a recent 

 list of " seeds and plants imported for distribution in 

 cooperation with the agricultural experiment stations " 



1997. Prunus Pseudo-Cerasus (X %). No. 25. 



by the U. S. Dept. of Agric. Grisebach describes it as 

 a high tree: Ivs. oblong or ovate-oblong, rounded at the 

 base, bluntish, with 2 glandular spots at the base be- 

 neath: racemes lateral, puberulous or glabrous: fr. 

 ovoid, slightly apiculate, nearly 1 in. long, purple. The 

 fruit is said to be "of very fine flavor." 



