70 Trees of North Carolina 



108. Prunus angustifolia Marsh. Chickasaw Plum. 



A small low tree with a dense spreading top, form- 

 ing the "plum thickets" so common on the edges of 

 fields and in waste places throughout the state. Ac- 

 cording to an old Indian tradition it was brought 

 from beyond the Mississippi. The leaves are small 

 and narrow, 1-2 inches long, 1 / 3 - 2 / 3 inch wide, the 

 teeth fine and close. The fruits ripen in early sum- 

 mer and are either red or yellow, about 2 / 3 inch in 

 diameter, sweet and edible. This species has given 

 rise to several cultivated plums such as the Newman 

 and Lone Star. Dates of flowering: about March 

 10, 1903; March 15, 1908; February 16, 1909; 

 March 20, 1910; March 25, 1912; March 14, 1915; 

 March 5, 1916. Examples : trees in pasture, west side 

 of Glenn Burnie Farm, where they reach a height of 

 11 feet and a diameter of 3 inches. 



109. Laurocerasus caroliniana (Mill.) Roem. Caroli- 



na Laurel Cherry. 



A small evergreen tree found wild only in the 

 southeast corner of the state near the coast, but much 

 used throughout the coastal plain as an ornamental 

 and as a screen. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, 2-4% 

 inches long, ^-l 1 /^ inches wide, with a few teeth 

 or the edges entire, thick, shiny above ; flowers small, 

 in dense racemes; fruits black, oblong, about V2 

 inch long, hanging on the tree through the winter ; not 

 edible. The wilting leaves contain a deadly poison. 



