PR UN US, PLUM TREE. 99 



XXXIII. PLUM TREE with white leaves that are variegated 



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Purple IMPERIALE with variegated leaves. 



This plum tree is a variety of the preceding one. 



The shoots are big & strong for a variegated tree. They're a beautiful purple on the 

 side in the sun, variegated green & white on the side in the shade, and grooved below the 

 buds. 



The buds are triple along the whole length of the shoot. Their stems are big & 

 prominent. 



The leaves are small, only two inches long by sixteen lignes wide. They terminate 

 in a sharp point. They're evenly, deeply, & quite finely denticulate. The inner side is 

 variegated & a sort of grainy white & green. The outer side is almost all white. The 

 stalks, about four or five lignes long, are purple on one side & green-white on the other. 



The fruit usually is misshapen, in poor condition & seemingly aborted. It's a very 

 light purple with little bloom on it and is attached to a slender stalk six lignes long. So 

 this tree is better suited to an ornamental garden than to an orchard. 



There's another Imperiale with very big & very oblong fruit. The fruit is two 

 inches long by eighteen lignes in diameter. It's olive-shaped, a little more pointed at the 

 end near the stalk than it is at the tip. Its groove is almost undetectable. The stalk is set 

 almost flush with the fruit. 



Its skin is leathery but it peels off the flesh easily. 



Its flesh is slightly yellowish, transparent, & softer than that of the preceding one. 



The juice is sweet & pleasant, although it retains a little tartness even when the 

 fruit is extremely ripe. 



The pit separates completely from the flesh. It's rough, extremely long, pointed & 

 flat. It's only six-&-a-half lignes wide 



