WILD BLACK CHERRY. 



59 



green and smooth on both sides. The white flowers appear late 

 in the spring in numerous clusters, and the fruit is small, round 

 and bright red. 



The light, soft, close-grained compact wood is light brown in 

 color ; the sapwood a clear yellow. 



Prunus serotina, Ehrhardt. 

 (wild black cherry.) 



A tree of the first commercial importance, with small horizontal 

 branches and dark red-brown scaly bark, reaching a height of 100 

 feet and a diameter of 5 feet. (Plate Y.) 



It occurs from Nova Scotia to Tampa Bay in Florida, and west- 

 ward to the Missouri river in Dakota, eastern Nebraska and Kan- 

 sas, Indian Territory and Texas, and is found also in southern New 

 Mexico and Arizona, and in parts of Mexico, Central and South 

 America. It rtaches its best devolopment on the high slopes of 

 the Alleghany mountains. It was once common in all the Appa- 

 lachian region, growing with the white oak, the white ash, the 

 green ash, the sugar maple, the yellow buckeye, the hickories and 

 the black birch. 



MAP OF 



NORTH CAROLINA 



LEGEND 

 Area in which the WILD BLACK CHERRY' 

 I I occurs as a small tree of httle commercial 

 p=] importance (Prunus serotina, Ehrh) 



^^ Area in which the WILD BLACK CHERRY 

 Pffl jH occurs as a large tree of the first economic 

 BffiH importance. 

 rTTj:^ Distribution of the WILD RED CHERRY 



(P runus pennsylvanic a, L.) 



In this State, where it attains an average height of 60 to 80 and 

 a diameter of 2 to 3 feet, it occurs through all parts of the State, 

 but is less common in the coastal plain, where the soil and climate 

 are not so favorable to its growth. It reaches its best dimensions> 

 on the rich cool slopes of the mountains. (Fig. 8.) 



