Genus 



PEACH FAMILY. 



325 



6. Prunus maritima Wang. Beach or Sand 

 Plum. Fig. 2414. 



Prunus maritima Wang. Am. 103. 1781. 

 Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. Beitr. 4: 17. 1789, 



PruHus sphaerocarpa Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i : 



1803. 



A low much-branched shrub, l°-7° high, not 

 thorny. Leaves oval, ovate or obovate, finely and 

 sharply serrate, acutish or acute at the apex, rounded 

 at the base, pubescent beneath even when old ; flow- 

 ers white, numerous, showy, in sessile lateral umbels, 

 expanding before the leaves, 5"-8" broad ; petals 

 obovate; drupe globose, purple, *'-i' in diameter, 

 sweet when ripe, covered with a bloom; stone little 

 flattened, acute on one margin, slightly grooved on 

 the other, usually pointed at both ends. 



On seabeaches and in sandy soil near the coast, Vir- 

 ginia to New Brunswick. April-May. Fruit ripe in Sept. 

 or Oct. 



7. Prunus Gravesii Small. Graves' Beach 

 Plum. Fig. 2415. 



Prunus Gravesii Small, Bull. Torr. Club 24 : 45. 

 1897. 



A low shrub, reaching a maximum height of 

 about 4°, not thorny, the twigs of the season 

 mostly puberulent. Leaves orbicular, oval- 

 orbicular, or slightly obovate, g"-i8" long, 

 rounded, retuse or apiculate at the apex, obtuse 

 or truncate at the base, pubescent, at least on 

 the nerves ' beneath ; flowers white, about 6" 

 broad, solitary or 2-3 together in lateral umbels, 

 expanding with the leaves; petals suborbicular; 

 drupe globose, s"-8" in diameter, nearly black, 

 with a light blue bloom ; stone nearly as thick 

 as wide, pointed only at the base. 



On a gravelly ridge, Groton, Connecticut. May- 

 June. Fruit ripe in Sept. 



8. Prunus gracilis Engelm. & Gray. Low 

 Plum. Fig. 2416. 



Prunus gracilis Engelm. & Gray, Bost. Journ. Nat. 

 Hist. 5: 243. 1847. 



A branching shrub, i°-4° high, the foliage and 

 young twigs densely soft-pubescent. Leaves short- 

 petioled, ovate-lanceolate or oval, acute or acutish 

 at both ends, sharply serrate, glabrate on the upper 

 surface at maturity ; flowers white, 3"-4" broad, 

 in sessile, lateral umbels, appearing before the 

 leaves; pedicels slender, pubescent; drupe oval- 

 globose, 4"-s" in diameter; stone little flattened, 

 nearly orbicular. 



In sandy or dry soil, Tennessee to Kansas and 

 Texas. 



