120 ROSACEJS. (ROSE FAMILY.) 



l' - 2' long. Plum about ^' in diameter, thin-skinned and of an agreeable 

 flavor. ' 



2. CERASUS. (CHERRY^) Drupe not glaucous: stone globular or slightly com- 

 pressed: leaves folded in the bud, deciduous. Spineless shrubs or trees. 

 * Flowers clustered. 



4. P. Pennsylvanica, L. Leaves thin, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, finely 

 and sharply serrate, green and smooth on both sides ; flowers several in a cluster, 

 on long peduncles ; drupe globose, light red. Rocky woods, North Carolina, 

 and northward. May. A small tree. Fruit small and sour. 



* =* Flowers in racemes terminating leafy branches. 



5. P. serotina, Ehrhart. Leaves smooth, varying from oval to ovate- 

 lanceolate, mostly acute or acuminate, serrate, with the teeth callous and ap- 

 pressed ; racemes long, spreading ; drupe globose, purplish-black. Woods, 

 Florida to Mississippi, and northward. April and May. A tree 20 - 60 high. 



6. P. Virginiana, L. Smooth throughout, or the lower surface of the 

 leaves, branches, and racemes more or less pubescent ; leaves thin, oval, oblong 

 or obovate, finely and sharply serrate, abruptly acute or acuminate ; racemes 

 rather short and erect ; drupe red. (P. hirsuta, Ell. ?) Light sandy soil, Geor- 

 gia and northward. April. Shrub 3 - 9 high. Leaves 1' - 3' long. Drupe 

 astringent. 



3. LAUROCERASUS. ( CHERRY-LAUREL ) Drupe not glaucous : stone globular : 

 flowers in racemes from the axils of evergreen leaves. 



7. P. Caroliniana, Ait. (MocK ORANGE.) Leaves coriaceous, smooth 

 and glossy, ovate-lanceolate, acute, mostly entire ; racemes shorter than the 

 leaves, white ; drupe ovoid, soon dry, black. Banks of rivers, Florida to North 

 Carolina, and westward. February and March. A small tree. 



3. SPIRJEA, L. MEADOW-SWEET. 



Calyx 5-cleft, persistent. Petals 5, roundish, imbricated in the bud. Stamens 

 10-50. Follicles 3-12, 1 - 10-seeded. Styles terminal. Shrubs or perennial 

 herbs, with simple or compound leaves. Flowers white or rose-color, sometimes 



dioecious. 



* Slirubs : flowers perfect. 



H- Flowers corymbose. 



1. S. opulifolia, L. Leaves broadly ovate or cordate, 3-lobed, doubly 

 crenate-serrate, smooth; corymbs umbellate, terminating the short branches, 

 mostly pubescent ; follicle smooth, inflated, 2-4-seeded. Var: FERRUGINEA, 

 Nutt. Leaves smaller (!' long), slightly lobed, covered, like the branches, 

 corymbs, and follicles, with a dense brownish pubescence. Banks of streams, 

 Florida and Alabama (the variety) to the mountains of Georgia, and northward. 

 April and May. Shrub 3 - 5 high, the old bark separating in turn layers. 



Flowers white. 



H H Flowers panicled. 



2. S. tomentosa, L. Leaves simple, ovate or oblong, serrate, the lower 

 surface, like the branches and close panicle, covered with a dense, rust-colored 



