526 



TREES OF NORTH AMERICA 



of the ocean; not common in the coast region of the southern states; in the south- 

 west only in the bottoms of mountain canons at elevations of 5000-7000 above the 

 level of the sea. 



13. Prunus Alabamensis, Mohr. Wild Cherry. 



Leaves oval, broadly ovate, or occasionally obovate, acute, short-pointed or 

 rounded at the apex, cuneate, rounded or rarely slightly obcordate at the base, and 

 finely serrate, with incurved teeth tipped with minute or sometimes near the base 

 of the blade with larger dark glands, when they unfold coated below and on the 

 upper side of the midribs with fine pubescence, and at maturity thick and firm in 

 texture, 4'-5' long, about 2' wide, dark dull green and glabrous on the upper surface, 

 dull and covered on the lower surface with short simple or forked accrescent hairs 

 most abundant and sometimes rufescent on the slender midribs and primary veins; 



their petioles stout, tomentose, becoming pubescent, eglandular or occasionally fur- 

 nished near the apex with 1 or 2 large dark glands, \'-\' long; stipules lanceolate, 

 acuminate, glandular-serrate, bright red, \ r long, caducous. Flowers appearing 

 during the first week of May, when the leaves are about half grown, \' in diameter, 

 on pubescent pedicels from the axils of ovate or obovate acuminate bright pink 

 caducous bracts, in spreading or erect slender pubescent racemes 3'^i' long; calyx- 

 tube broad, cup-shaped, puberulous, with short almost triangular lobes persistent on 

 the fruit; petals white, nearly orbicular. Fruit ripening late in September, sub- 

 globose to short-oblong, ' in diameter, dark red or finally nearly black, with thin 

 acid flesh, and an ovoid somewhat compressed stone pointed at the ends, ^' long, 

 ridged on the ventral suture, with a broad low ridge, and slightly grooved on the 

 dorsal suture. 



A tree, 25-30 high, with a short trunk rarely 10' in diameter, spreading some- 

 what drooping branches, and slender branchlets coated at first with pale tomentum, 

 dark red-brown during their first season, becoming nearly glabrous before winter, 

 and much darker in their second year. Bark of the trunk dark, rough, separating 

 freely into small thin scales. 



Distribution. Summits of the low mountains of Central Alabama; rare and 

 local. 



