22 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



crroups as a slender, crooked-stem- 

 med tree from twenty to twenty-five 

 feet tall. In drier, less desirable situa- 

 tions it sometimes forms shrubby 

 thickets four to ten feet tall. 



Although new twigs are green, the 

 color of older bark is a light reddish- 

 brown to gray, smooth, except on 

 older and larger trunks, in which case 

 it is rough and irregularly seamed 

 with reddish-brown scales. The 

 leaves which are one to three and 

 one-half inches long at maturity a^e 

 thick, somewhat leathery, and a deep 

 green, being shiny on the upper side 

 and paler beneath. The edges of the 

 leaves are characterized by numer- 

 ous short teeth. 



The attractive white flowers, each 

 about one-half inch in diameter, are 

 borne in compact, cylindrical clusters 

 from two to four inches in length. 

 Each cluster contains from 20 to 50 

 blossoms and on the Valley floor 

 they are generally evident in June. By 

 late summer the fruit ripens. How- 

 ever, this is eagerly sought after by 

 birds and so it is generally devoured 

 before it is fully ripe. When mature 

 the fruit is characterized by a dark 

 purple color. 



Bruised twigs, leaves, and the bark 

 of young twigs possesses a strong 

 characteristic odor. The name choke- 

 cherry is derived from the fact that 

 the fruit has an astringent after taste. 



KLAMATH PLUM 

 Prunus subcordata Benth — Roce Family (Rosaceae) 



Although generally a stocky, 

 crooked-stemmed shrub two to ten 

 feet tal: when growing in poorer soils, 

 this species sometimes attains tree 

 stature in locations suited to better 

 development. In such cases it reach- 

 es a height of from 15 to 20 feet and 

 attains a diameter of from four to six 

 inches. It does best in sandy, fertile 

 soils along stream borders and simi- 

 lar moist situations. In the Yosemite 

 region it may be noted along the road 

 in the Wawona area, about Big Mea- 

 dows, and in the Hetch Hetchy sec- 

 tion. 



It is characterized by a short, thic''. 

 trunk having ashy-brown, seamed 

 bark. The limbs are heavy, ext3nd at 

 light angles from the trunk, and pos- 



sess numerous short, stubby twigs. 

 Twigs of the season are red to purple- 

 red in color and are generally 

 smooth. In the spring the tree bears 

 white flowers about one-half inch in 

 diameter, which appear just before 

 or at about the same time as the 

 leaves, in loose clusters of two to four. 

 The leaves, when mature, are one to 

 three inches long, almost circular in 

 outline, and with numerous small 

 teeth along the margin. The fruit is 

 tart but edible, a deep purple-red in 

 color, and about three-quarters of an 

 inch to one inch long. Enclosed within 

 the flesh of the fruit is a distinctive 

 flat seed with a thin, keel-like edge 

 along one side and a groove along 

 the other. 



