ILLINOIS TREES: SELECTION, PLANTING. AND CARE 



101 



green above and paler beneath. They are smooth when young but 

 become wrinkled with age. In early spring, the conspicuous, 

 white, perfect flowers appear before the leaves. They are pro- 

 duced in small clusters and the petals are bright red at the base. 

 The 1-inch diameter, round fruit turns bright red upon ripening 

 and contains a flattened, rough, oval pit. The fruit makes excel- 

 lent jellies and preserves. The red-tinted, brown bark is divided 

 by fissures into plates. Although the close-grained wood is heavy, 

 hard, and strong, it has no commercial value. 



The wild goose plum, with its broad crown of rigid, spread- 

 ing branches, grows to a height of 25-30 feet. It is common in 

 most of southern and western Illinois. The shiny, thin, dark 

 green, alternate leaves are smooth above and slightly hairy be- 

 neath. They are 4-6 inches long and 1 inch or more wide, and 

 have finely toothed margins. The small clusters of perfect flow- 

 ers, with white petals that frequently are orange tinted at the 

 base, appear mostly before the leaves. The round to slightly 

 oval, hard-fleshed fruits, %-l inch in diameter, are covered with 

 a thick, tough, red or yellow skin and contain rough, pitted 

 stones. The dark brown bark is thinly plated. Many horticultural 





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Fig. 91. — Wild 

 plum produces small 

 clusters of white 

 flowers before the 

 leaves appear in the 

 spring and round 

 fruit that ripens in 

 the autumn. The 

 long -pointed leaves 

 (inset) have sharp- 

 toothed margins. 



