ROSACEAE 

 Canada Plum. Red Plum 



Prunus nigra Ait. [Prunus americana, v. nigra Waugh] 



HABIT. A small tree 20-25 feet high and 5-8 inches in 

 trunk diameter; usually divides 5-6 feet from the ground into a 

 num'ber of stout, upright branches, forming a narrow, rigid 

 crown. 



LEAVES. Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long and one-half 

 as broad ; oblong-ovate to obovate, abruptly acuminate at the 

 apex; doubly crenate-serrate ; thick and firm; glabrous, light 

 green above, paler beneath; petioles short, stout, bearing 2 large 

 red glands near the blade. 



FLOWERS. May, before the leaves ; perfect ; slightly frag- 

 rant ; about i inch across ; borne on slender, glabrous, red 

 pedicels in 2-3-flowered umbels; calyx 5-lobed, dark red; petals 

 5, white; stamens 15-20, with purple anthers; ovary i-celled; 

 style I ; stigma i. 



FRUIT. August-September; a fleshy drupe, about I inch 

 long, oblong-ovoid, with a tough, thick, orange-red skin nearly 

 free from bloom, and yellow flesh adherent to the flat stone. 

 Eaten raw or cooked. 



WINTER-BUDS. Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ^-K 

 inch long, ovate, acute, chestnut-brown. 



BARK. Twigs green, marked by numerous pale excrescen- 

 ces, later dark brown; thin, gray-brown and smooth on young 

 trunks, but soon splitting off in large, thick plates, exposing the 

 darker inner bark. 



WOOD. Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, light red- 

 brown, with thin, lighter colored sapwood. 



DISTRIBUTION. Upper Peninsula and the Lower Pen- 

 insula north of Lansing. 



HABITAT. Prefers rich, alluvial soil along streams. 



NOTES. Suckers freely, forming low, broad thickets. 

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