192 XXXII. ROSACEA. [Prunus. 



China. Hardy in England. In the Himalaya the fruit ripens well up to 10,000 

 ft., but it is best between 6000 and 9000 ft. In West Tibet the tree is cultivated 

 as high as 12,000 ft. : at that elevation, however, the fruit seldom ripens properly. 

 Believed to be indigenous in the Caucasian region, and to have been introduced 

 into Europe about the same time as the Peach-tree. Often found seemingly 

 wild in the N.W. Himalaya. Fl. Jan.-May, according to elevation, the fruit 

 ripens between June and Sept. The foliage turns yellow in August, and be- 

 comes red before falling. 



Attains 30-35 ft. and 5-6 ft. girth ; crown close, spreading, rounded. In the 

 N.W. Himalaya the dried apricots form a considerable portion of the food of 

 the people, particularly during autumn and winter. In the apricot districts — 

 for instance, on the Sutlej, Tonse, and Jumna — the roofs of all houses are covered 

 with the yellow fruit in the season, spread out to dry. The dried fruit is an 

 important article of trade, and is imported into the plains from the hiUs, and 

 from Afghanistan. Oil is extracted from the kernels, which is burnt, used in 

 cooking, and for the hair. The heartwood of the apricot is reddish, and is much 

 used for various ordinary purposes. P. dasycarpa, Ehrh., the Black Apricot, 

 a variety with dark purple velvety fruit, is cultivated in Kashmir, Afghanistan, 

 Beluchistan, and in Europe. 



4. P. communis, Hudson; Hook. Stud. Fl. 106. — Vein. Alueha, olehi, 

 er, aor, garddlu, Pb. 



A shrub or moderate-sized tree, unarmed or spinescent ; extremities 

 pubescent. Leaves convolute in bud, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, serrate, 

 more or less pubescent along the nerves beneath ; petioles shorter than 

 greatest breadth of leaf. Stipules linear, fimbriate. Flowers on slender 

 pedicels, 3 or 4 times the length of calyx-tube, from lateral often leaf-bear- 

 ing buds. Pedicels solitary or in pairs, buds often approximate. Drupe 

 globose or oblong. 



I follow Bentham (Handbook of the Brit. Flora, i. 236) and Hooker in unit- 

 ing the Sloe, the different kinds of plums, damsons, and prunes under one 

 species. The principal sub-species are the following : — 



a. P. spinosa, Linn. ; Boissier 1. c. 650. — Sloe, hladk-thorn. A shrub with 

 divaricate spinescent branches, bark black ; pedicels solitary or in pairs, 

 glabrous ; drupes erect, small, globose or sub-globose. Europe, North 

 Africa. 

 h. P. insititia, Linn. ; Boissier 1. c. 651. — Bullace. A shrub with straiglft 

 branches, sometimes spinescent, branchlets velvety ; leaves pubescent be- 

 neath ; pedicels in pairs, downy ; drupes middle-sized, globose, j-1 in. diam., 

 drooping. Europe, North Africa. 



c. P. domestica, Linn. ; Boissier 1. c. 652. — Plum, prime. A tree, unarmed, 

 branchlets glabrous ; pedicels in pairs, pubescent ; drupes large, oblong, 

 drooping. 



d. P. divaricata, Ledebour ; Boissier 1. c. 651. — Syn. P. cerasifera, Ehih. ? 

 A small tree, unarmed, rarely spinescent, branchlets glabrous, pedicels 

 solitary ; leaves whitish-viUous beneath at the nerves or at the midrib 

 only ; drupe yeUow, globose, or ovoid. Macedonia, Caucasus, North Persia. 



I do not venture to decide to which sub-species the Kashmir plum belongs. 

 The drupe is nodding, globose or ovoid, f in. long ; the branchlets are glabrousj 

 the leaves wooUy beneath, with long hairs half-way up the midrib ; the pedicels 

 are solitary or in pairs from one bud, but appear fasciculate because several 

 flower-bearing buds (shortened branchlets) are often approximate. It is cultivated 

 for its fruit, which is very palatable, in Kashmir at 5000-7000 ft., at places in 



